Mottley implores prime minister to quit

Have mercy on the people of Barbados says former opposition leader Mia Mottley.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Friday June 01, 2012 – Former Opposition Leader Mia Mottley has implored Prime Minister Freundel Stuart to “have mercy on the people of Barbados” and step aside as head of the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP).

Failing that, Stuart should call an election immediately and let the people decide who they believe should run the country, the senior Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Member of Parliament suggested.

Mottley was speaking in the House of Assembly as members debated government’s decision to keep the Value Added Tax (VAT) at 17.5 percent until further notice.

“One thing the public would be eternally grateful for is for you to step aside and let someone else bring relief to them. Don’t promise it [a general election] soon, just do it,” she said.

Mottley, a former deputy prime minister and attorney-general, added that her call for the prime minister to either step down or call an election was based on Barbadians having lost confidence in the government to look after their basic interests.

“Reduce the burden now so people can breathe again.  If you don’t call an election, then let us get a consensus framework going on how to improve the economy,” she urged.

The former BLP leader said the government had dismissed a recent poll conducted by CADRES just as it tended to dismiss everything else.

She was referring to the Caribbean Development Research Services poll, published last month, in which Stuart scored the lowest ranking ever for a sitting Barbados prime minister.  He also landed last on the list of the poll’s “preferred prime minister” in which Mottley placed second after Leader of the Opposition Owen Arthur.

Mottley went on to say: “This government has refused to make difficult decisions to stabilize the economy.  They continue to administer the wrong medicine to the country and their failure to make changes continues to drag the country down.”

She reiterated that she had no problem offering her services to the DLP administration in adopting a dual-party approach to solving the problems at hand, putting disposable income back into the pockets of Barbadians.

“I have no problems working with government, but I prefer to crawl out of a four-foot hole than out of a 20-foot hole,” she said.  Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)