Barbados opposition party wants government to get down to business

The main opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is calling on the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to get down to business in administering the affairs of the island instead of engaging in a blame game, nine months after the general election.

The BLP won all the 30 seats in the May 24, 2018 general election and Prime Minister Mia Mottley became the first woman to head a government in this Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

“After nine months in office, it is time for the Mottley administration to get on with the job they were elected to do instead of apportioning blame to the former Government whenever solutions evade them,” the DLP said in a statement.

The government has blamed the former DLP administration for the economic woes confronting the island. It has since had to enter into a US$290 million Extended Fund Facility (EEF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has significantly cut down expenditure within the public service by retrenching many workers.

The DLP said that since coming to office, there has been an increase in criminal activities here and that the government was now turning to “the army and prayer for solutions after a rise in murders in the month of January equalled the total number of murders for the first four months of 2018”.

The opposition party said that Prime Minister Mottley and her government should abandon “the empty carping” and seek to grapple with the root causes of the societal issues facing the island in a mature manner.

In the statement, the DLP took the opportunity to outline some of its achievements while in office.