Civil Society not Second Class

It is so unfortunate how arrogantly we live life until something happens to remind us that we are all human beings; all as vulnerable as any. We become equal when we have to battle a common enemy or fight a common cause.

The annual Public/Private Sector Consultations is seriously flawed. It seems that the powers that be feel that the only engine capable of driving Barbados forward is the Private and Public Sectors.

Hence, the social partnership as we practice it is a tri-partite arrangement; Government, Labour and the Private Sector. It seems that the rest of Civil Society is second class.

Brian Lara failed to score a captain's innings but the West Indies won the ICC Final. Browne and Bradshaw did not make all 218 runs but stood up when needed. How much ever each player contributed, collectively it was the team that won.

Sir Leroy Trotman reminded the Prime Minister that the Government alone can't take all the praise for the performance of the economy. Of course he was putting in a claim for workers to be associated with great performances because too often workers too are left to feel like second class citizens.

A young lady summed it up beautifully. She is no scholar; never got anywhere in Secondary School but a staunch supporter of the Barbados Labour Party. It was stunning to hear her say, "I find that the Government does do a lot for the country, but don't do nothing for the people."

You really can't get more second class than when the country is primary and the people are secondary. Are we mixing up something here? They say that a chain is as strong as its weakest link and the status of Barbados is measured by its abundance as much as it is measured by its poverty.

One would have thought that the country should represent the collective strength of the people. The country is the people. Like the King who found himself without subjects; he did not have a country. His sovereignty was limited to nothing more than landownership; having claim to the land.

The passage of Ivan gave rise to a classic example of the strength of the people. For example, CERO is heavily dependent on Civil Society to be prepared, to manage the disaster and reconstruct damage through the existence of District Emergency Organisations (DEOs).

DEOs are made up of ordinary citizens volunteering their time, skills and resources to disaster preparedness and management. They make sure that the community is safe, especially the vulnerable. They rescue the victims of disasters and are on hand to provide help and relief.

CERO launched a cash appeal for Barbadians to contribute to a victims' fund. If the Government had simply foot the bill, it could only have done so from the taxpayers money. Similarly, when the Private Sector contributes it could only do so as a result of the support and patronage of the people.

All roads lead to the people. The people make up the Government, the Private Sector, the Trade Unions and the developmental organisations of Civil Society. Why then is Government leaving out Civil Society at this level?

The Public/Private Sector consultations should be changed to the Annual National Consultations. Since it has become a forum for discussing national strategies and making recommendations for national development, why are all parties not represented there?

Roosevelt O. King
Secretary General - BANGO
admin@bango.org.bb