WITH SOME PEOPLE, COMMON SENSE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE COMMON THESE DAYS

I just don’t understand why so many Barbadians are so gullible and so quick to rush into everything without first taking the time to understand what is actually being presented to them.

BimPay is a cash transfer and payment app, just like Cash App and many other digital payment platforms. It should never have had to disrupt anyone's wages. Yet somehow, it did.

Why?

Because too many people in Barbados are caught up in sugar-coated sales pitches and deceptive wording instead of demanding clear, truthful information.

People heard that an app was coming, and, based on how it was promoted, many were led to believe that EVERYONE had to download it to get paid. Many did not fully understand what the app was actually designed to do, what its purpose was, or whether it was even necessary for them.

Businesses also joined in, creating a major inconvenience for employees who simply wanted to receive their wages. Workers were left confused, frustrated, and uncertain about how they would be paid.

Now the word is that businesses do not have to join the app for employees to receive their wages, and employees do not have to join the app either. Wages can continue to be distributed through existing methods, just as they were before.

If the information had been delivered clearly, honestly, and in a way that people could properly understand from the beginning, much of this confusion could have been avoided. Instead of trying to hook people into joining the platform and making transfer numbers appear high to create the image of rapid progress and success, the focus should have been on explaining exactly what the app is, what it does, who it is for, and who it is not for.

People and businesses would then have been able to make informed decisions about whether and how they wanted to use the app.

The bigger issue is that common sense doesn’t seem to be common these days.

Government and its sidekick officials, agencies, advisors, and decision-makers need to stop creating unnecessary problems and inconveniencing the people. Do things properly, or don’t do them at all.

The endless cycle of confusion, disruption, inconvenience, followed by the predictable “sorry” and apology statements, is becoming far too common.

Stop putting the cart before the donkey.

Stop rolling out initiatives before the public fully understands them.

Stop allowing confusion to tag along every step of the way.

The people should not have to suffer unnecessary disruptions because of poor communication, poor planning, or rushed implementation.

When something affects the livelihoods and wages of working people, clarity should come before rollout, explanation should come before promotion, and common sense should come before confusion.

Anything less is simply creating problems where none needed to exist.