Sailing a boat requires the constant attention of the helmsman. Once the course is set, variables such as wind velocity and direction, wave condition, currents, precipitation and fog require constant adjustments to rudder and sail. Some of these adjustments will be minor, and, for an accomplished and well seasoned sailor, made with an almost unconscious effort. Major changes in weather conditions will require more radical adjustments and call upon the coordinated efforts of the crew directed by the sailing master to meet the challenges of the elements.
In planning a successful voyage there are certain prerequisites that are essential and that many take for granted. These include a destination and an alternate should the primary destination become inaccessible for any reason. In addition, the crew should be well trained and briefed on their roles during the voyage and how they would respond to any emergencies. During the cruise clear lines of communication and frequent, timely, and accurate situation reports are essential for the captain to weather the vicissitudes of a hostile environment and bring the vessel home to a safe harbor.
Information on current conditions is a key component to command decisions as well as the efficiency of the crew. For example, should a fire break out the fire drill must be flawlessly implemented with alacrity and without confusion. With the approach of a squall line sails must be reefed and the hatches battened down till the storm passes.
This all sounds quite logical and very simple but as always it is the devil in the details that seems to confound us. Slow or inaccurate communication of vital information impairs the quality of decision making and makes the tasks of the crew impossible. Conflicting commands adds to confusion and with a steadily deteriorating situation the crew become restive and ultimately in a worst case scenario the authority of the captain is challenged and mutiny breaks out.
Thus it is with the Ship of State where evidence based analysis and prudent leadership would have buttressed us against the storm, and with skill, allowed us to tack into the wind making slow but steady progress against the odds. By telling the public the truth from the very outset and outlining a national strategy to deal with the economic problems facing us Barbadians would have rallied to the cause.
Instead we have ignored the repeated onslaughts of a perfect economic global storm that show little signs of abatement. It has been business as usual with periodic expenditures of appeasement aimed at one sector or another of the community that might pay a political dividend but add to the ever widening fiscal deficit. We continue to party, dance and shop our way to oblivion. Statistics are ignored or manipulated. We know neither where we go nor which shore might we be cast upon next. We now live with the fervent hope that it is not a reef that will strand us far from shore.
Finally, there is news that the crew is unsettled and agitating for a new captain while the fiscal deficit continues to widen and the sources of funding dry up. Maybe it’s time to ask the passengers what they think.
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