Alred C. Frett. Photo: VINO/File

We are now one week into a revised 7:00 pm to 6:00 am lockdown schedule and our bodies and habits are still trying to adjust to this routine… I may speak but have no doubt that it was your voices that unlocked the home prisons – Appreciate your powers of influence because without knowing it, you took the same steps that acquired the New Hospital, Beef Island Bridge, UK Passports and other successes.

Sometimes it takes decades to achieve and we are forced to adjust and tolerate inferior conditions... Today, the message was received and we have already adjusted and re-programmed ourselves to do a whole day’s work in half a day - We cook, clean, do laundry, exist without haircuts and make-up, debate ourselves and sleep alone - Some call it survival but it feels like jobs disposal and antisocial.

We claim to be a Godly people so we are encouraged to call on him for miracles even as we are constantly reminded that it’s not over, no one knows when it will end and, we should prepare to accept the new unnatural norm… However, we cannot celebrate tomorrow until we survive today and leaders must realise, the more we fail to deal with reality the more we become lost in fantasy.

COVID-19 is a real-life and death challenge and we are already seeing the deaths and universal job loss and unemployment… As a trickle-down country, it is clear that the way of life we knew, can no longer exist… We also realise that our survival depends on Fairness, Justice and Humanity - These must come from Leaders/ Governments who will help and care rather than hinder or compete.

Leading is by Example; not Force:

Unfortunately, we are seeing the opposite as political rulers and officers of courts – collectively and individually, abuse power and push double standards and malice without fear of contradiction… Many cover their deeds with promises of monetary gifts, stimulus packages tied to their belief that the power of money can persuade us that wrong is right even if it means killing our own mothers.

Fact is, we do not create money and should never waste the little we have knowing that a fool and his money are soon parted and we should not place our hats where our hands cannot reach…They told us they were broke and we believed them so what should we now believe as we watch them spend like drunken sailors?... What about the MoneyGram Tax to obtain much-needed revenues?

Maybe these steps were not necessary and lost more than was gained… Meanwhile, with Financial Services and Tourism on the morgue, many taxes, commissions and fines have dried up and the pain of external airlines and cruise ships is felt by us locally… Without restaurants, clubs, hotel or PTA Meetings there’s nowhere to go and therefore no need for transportation or dressing up.

Financial cries of friends and family who are out of work and money, stretch across the world and it’s time for us to step back and ask questions before rushing ahead… Can we truly expect stimulus packages from countries who have their own financial problems? or, receive special loans unless we are able to guarantee repayment?... Should Social Security be used as a political piggy bank?

Priorities harness the Acts of Nature for the Survival of Man:

Things are never simple in a real crisis… It may be easy for Governments to direct landlords to suspend rents for specified periods and request banks to offer moratoriums on loans but this is no solution… Moratoriums are mere delays and banks will collect their monies sooner or later while landlords will get nothing - banks are programmed to profit while landlords are positioned to lose.

However, if we are truly in this together, we would prioritise and value money management, where we only spend if and when totally necessary… This makes it difficult to understand Government’s embarking on costly adventures like community centres and major road works when they propose social distancing as the new norm and threats of lockdowns with no cars allowed on our roads.

Please hear me well; I am all for Capital Projects at the right time and circumstances and if you check the records of 20 years ago or ask North Sound teachers of that period, they may recall that Community Centre as a Project I started before being removed as Minister so that same project and others could be stopped in favour of a race track… Then we had money – Today we have crises.

Maybe we should first clear our roads before we can repair them… Instead, we are chin-deep in a crisis where the focus should be on food and health care but we see the costs of goods raised beyond affordability and private medical care, degraded by Government… Even worse, the same Government that owes providers for 5-months prevented them from accessing food during curfew.

There is crisis within crisis when food and health care seem to be areas most under attack by Governments and when the general public and private sector are forced to carry the strain of; reduced opening hours, reduced employment, reduced income and reduced hopes of future survival while banks and selected civil servants are okayed to do part-time work for full-time pay.

Remember, Good Health is always our best Vaccination:

That does not sound like we are all in this together and if this trend continues; especially, with African slaves descendants labelled as most likely to die from this virus, then we are all doomed to die in silent ignorance… I still believe Black deaths are due to socio-financial conditions but some claim that these deaths may be conditionally, genetically influenced and we should not ignore that.

While our immune system still remains the primary defence against the Coronavirus, studies show Vitamin D as an important factor in building this System… Although we obtain Vitamin D from our foods and supplements like Cod Liver Oil, sunlight is necessary to activate this process and it is claimed that the darker the skin the less effective the process - Africans need more exposure.

Ironically, this suggests that forcing us to quarantine indoors for safety from the virus can actually reduce our immunity and increase our risk to COVID-19… Such lockups also promote mental stress and medical illnesses like High Blood Pressure, Strokes, Diabetes, Cardiac Issues/ Heart Attacks, etc. – Furthermore, these illnesses linger long after lockdowns have been lifted or crises pass.

Often such truths have no friends and please do not think I’m not listening when you caution that Govt may victimize me for being outspoken - That happened before and may still be happening but a World without Truth is a World of Trumpism in which far too many have died… I will still try to serve however I can; whether bringing you Truth, Health Care at B&F Medical or Music in the Park.

I bear no malice for our Leaders and it’s no secret that I voted for them so I neither wish them to fail nor our people die… This is not a matter of Young versus Old or Experimentation versus Experience… This is a matter of combining all our forces in a battle we cannot afford to lose… COVID-19 thrives on mistakes and it is imperative that we work together or we shall perish together.

PS: I will continue addressing some of your Questions & Comments on Live BVP Radio Programmes