Barbados Today

Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss is casting doubt on the effectiveness of the systems of governance.

Speaking last night ahead of a lecture entitled, Towards a New Governance by former Prime Minister Owen Arthur, Inniss suggested that Barbadians ought not be happy with the current state of the governance systems.

“It is time that we be bold and ask if we are satisfied with our systems of governance, overall,” the minister said at the forum organized by his St James South constituency council.

“It is time for Barbados to do some serious introspection . . . some of our institutions and structures need to be shaken to the core, and a new thinking engaged to truly transform our nation.”

Inniss, known to espouse positions that run contrary to that of his own Government, told the audience at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies that new systems of governance were needed almost immediately.

“We have to ask the question, if our structures and systems that have guided and managed us in the past 50 years will move us in a positive manner, not for the next 50 years, but perhaps for the next five years and beyond.

“The future of Barbados relies heavily in developing and sustaining the right governance systems for our political and economic and social spheres,” Inniss said.

The minister’s position appeared to echo sentiments expressed by Opposition Leader Mia Mottley in an address yesterday to the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mottley suggested to the private sector that the governance systems were broken and that the country lacked “bold, focused and decisive leadership” as well as  “sound, transparent, accountable and disciplined governance”.