THE SOCIETY FOR MASS FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY & THE PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS PRE-ELECTION MANIFESTO PART TWO OCTOBER 2006 2006 The Society for Mass Freedom and Democracy / People’s Democratic Congress No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the expressed permission of the copyright owner. Copyright 2006 The Society for Mass Freedom and Democracy/People’s Democratic Congress All Rights Reserved. 2 Part Two TABLE OF CONTENTS Pgs 4 - 11 Fundamental Reform of the Barbados Stock Exchange 12 - 21 The Creation of Partnerships as the ONLY MultiMember Corporate/ Business Entities Possible 21 - 28 A New State Management Entity For Barbados 29 - 45 Some Policies for the Modernization of Outdoor Business( Vending), Agricultural Work, and Domestic Home Help Services in Barbados 45 - 52 Reform of the Public Transportation System 52 - 55 Measures that will certainly Reduce Traffic Congestion on our Roads 55 - 69 The Development of a Modernized School System in Barbados 70 - 75 Some Policies for the Modernization of the Health of the country 75 - 79 Some Policies for the further Development of Media Enterprises in Barbados 80 - 93 Some Policies for the Modernization of Police and other Legal Affairs 93 – 158 Politico-Constitutional Reform for Barbados 158 - 163 Foreign Affairs 164 - 170 Immigration Affairs 170 - 173 Defence Affairs 173 - 175 Some Accomplishments of SMFD since 2002 176 The End of Part Two 3 FUNDAMENTAL REFORM OF THE BARBADOS STOCK EXCHANGE Since its establishment in Barbados in the 80s, the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) formerly the Securities Exchange of Barbados) has had very little impact on the broad masses of people of Barbados. In contrast, it has impacted more on the other social groups, namely, the elite and pseudo-elite. In essence, a Stock Exchange is a place where shares or stocks in public limited liability companies (hereinafter referred to simply as public companies) are bought and sold by persons, businesses or other entities. At present the Barbados Stock Exchange does not only involve trading in shares/stocks of many local public companies but also trading in the shares/stocks of some regional public companies. In Barbados, although the concept of share ownership takes on the appearance of a greater version of wealth distribution among social groups even without a truly political democratic structure underpinning it in the relevant corporate bodies, this concept’s juxta-positioning with money value, and in sufficiently representative quantities, means, among other things, therefore that when looking at the relevant facts in Barbados ONLY a few thousand Barbadians and business entities would be capable of OWNING shares, and of inviting the public to purchase shares in the relevant companies. Too, not only is this and is there generally an indication by the low level of public participation in the activity of the Barbados Stock Exchange, of national wealth and income in Barbados not being properly nationally distributed across social groups, but also there is every indication that not enough National Output is currently being generated to support a lot more share owning activity far less public share-owning. It must be remembered that Stock Exchange activity in Barbados, is competing with other national, personal and other events and processes, for the money value/income of the public, and therefore it would have to be that stock exchange activity is among the least market attractions to the public, esp. the masses, and mainly from the point of view of the what and the extent of potential/ costs/benefits that are being experienced by the public. These are some of the more important facts that the BLP and DLP must be telling the public, instead of their simply telling the public to invest more money in shares or mutual funds. These parties must surely be condemned for having failed massively to tell the public, esp. the masses, these types of things!! The BSE not only serves to widen wealth and income disparities in Barbados, but also serves to perpetuate and strengthen the rule of the elite over the other non-government social groups As it stands now, the BSE not only serves to widen wealth and income disparities in Barbados, but also serves to perpetuate and strengthen the rule of the elite over the other non-government social groups. The basis of these assertions (lines 1-2 immediately above) lie in the fact that these corporate elites would have sought, but in any event, given their pretext of wishing to have more of the masses of people involved in the buying and selling of shares on the BSE, would have been failing to further politically exploit the masses/pseudo-elite, which is good, too, given the need for the masses to avoid any social marginalization and political exploitation schemes. In this context, these elites wish to further reduce their own personal financial risks, as against increasing the personal financial risks of the masses relative to their, these elites’, own corporate extravagances and adventures!!! Both BLP and DLP Governments have over the years allowed for the continued establishment of THIS TYPE of Stock Exchange without having a great understanding of the implications/consequences for the development of the affairs of the masses/pseudo-elite of Barbados by way of the continued existence of such an elite-driven, psycho-politically deformed corporate stock exchange. Surely, SMFD/PDC’s public duty is to tell the masses that this Barbados Stock Exchange is NOT SIMPLY about the buying and selling of shares, and NOT SIMPLY about the investing of money value in public companies, worse yet IT IS SUBSTANTIALLY ABOUT Elite Political Exploitation by Financial Means of the Masses, to a greater extent, and the Pseudo-elite, to a lesser extent. These Governments have failed to inform the masses/pseudo-elite that the fundamental purpose of the emergence of this Exchange by the government then was no small coincidence at a time when these elites had finally lost a representative presence in the House of Assembly in the 80s onwards, to the growing presence of political managerial pseudo-elite class. SMFD/PDC believe that the emergence of this Stock Exchange was a method by which the government of that day sought to partially compensate the Elite, but at their (the elite’s) own behest, with a forum for allowing for future greater “democratic” and financial means of resolving for further reconstitution, reformulation and reconsolidation of their political power bases and relationships over the masses, to a greater extent, and the pseudo elite, to a lesser extent, in Barbados. Though this exchange has been governed by a set of rules and regulations the situation is that in the final analysis today it is elite-controlled Barbadian companies that dominate stock exchange activity in Barbados, with many more elite owned and/or controlled companies in Barbados as well not being listed on the stock exchange. Not only have there been increases, albeit slowly, in the rate at which elite-controlled companies have been joining the stock exchange since its inception, but also there has been a slow down in the liquidation, 5 naturally or otherwise, of the entire number of elite-owned and/or controlled companies in Barbados from the time the stock exchange has been in existence in Barbados. Thanks to the elite/state’s continuing lack of information and activity seeking to have the public aware of the role and function and the ins and outs of the Barbados Stock Exchange, and thereupon as a partial response, the inadequate numbers of people becoming investors in public companies listed on the Stock Exchange, has meant that Elite/State leaders would have, thank goodness, failed to have got the Masses/Pseudo-elite where they, Elite/State leaders, would have wanted them to be – experiencing greater Elite/State political exploitation of the Masses/Pseudo- elite. The Masses/Pseudo-elite, as many Barbadians would know already, are not only totally disadvantaged from the point of view of the fact that these elites esp. would have originally undemocratically apportioned themselves the greatest number of shares, and thus the greatest dividends - something which is totally based on the disgusting and appalling notion of some classes of shares having priority/preference over others – but also are totally disadvantaged from the point of view that the masses/pseudo-elite would have already wrongly and totally unjustifiably for eons been bearing the brunt of Elite/State-driven Taxation, Interest Rates, Repayable Loans and other things - which are some of the present foundations of the BSE and its operations. What is even more dastard and unfortunate about this approach to public share-ownership is that via a stock exchange like the BSE, it does not take much for a business, esp. one from overseas – , it just has to have the right credentials - to come and buy out ownership and control of public companies in Barbados, thereafter it being observed, among other things, the unwelcome foisting of some directors of a non-national sort upon these Barbadian born and bred companies. Some of these Directors, at the time of their installments and some times way beyond that, would not have MUCH or even sufficient knowledge about the histories of these businesses- the histories of the businesses entire cultures- even the country affairs – would not have much or even sufficient knowledge of their customer bases, advertising customers etc. Remember how Guardian Holdings of Trinidad and Tobago wanted, but failed, to have part-ownership and control of Life of Barbados, and, too, how both the Lock Jack and McEnearney Groups - Trinidad and Tobago interests - were locked in a serious battle for majority-ownership and control of Brydens, a battle which was later won by the McEnearney Group.