Several St. Michael South constituents lambasted the poor representation they receive from Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, and said they don’t want to see him again.
The constituents made their feelings known to some of those involved in the Barbados Labour Party mass canvass of St. Michael South on Saturday (May 20). That canvass was a continuation of the party’s Rubbing Shoulders initiative.
From the Bayland to Brittons Hill, the refrain was the same – Freundel needs to go.
This disillusionment was captured by BLP caretaker for the riding, Kirk Humphrey. Speaking at a media briefing after the mass canvass at Jessamine Avenue in the Bayland, he lamented the way constituents had been treated over the years given they were represented by two Prime Ministers. And he pledged to always put people above politics.
“This constituency needs representation . . . Representation means we will hit the ground, we will get to know the people, we will build relationships, and our primary concern is building the trust between ourselves and the people so we can act on the people’s behalf,” Humphrey said.
Humphrey noted that parliamentarians win their seats because of the confidence of the electorate; and if their voices are ignored by the people they elect to represent them, then they have the ability to oust them.
“Silence is not a public policy and we have to be engaging and we have to . . . communicate with the people.
“We are only here because people have allowed us to be here, but we will also not be here if people [so] decide,” he stressed.
Humphrey accused Stuart of ignoring the plight of constituents and highlighted a number of issues plaguing the constituency. One of them was the dearth of street lights in the heavily populated riding which has led to the lives of women and children constantly being under threat.
“St. Michael South is a very dark constituency. . . . There are young girls and young mothers who walk through the constituency and are afraid at night. We have to bring lighting to the constituency so that people can feel safe,” said the first-time candidate.
Humphrey noted that the roads and drains in the constituency are also in a deplorable state, a situation residents Juanita Forde and Paul Adams graphically outlined in detailing their separate challenges through the years.
The management consultant also complained about a lack of sporting facilities or even a resource centre in St. Michael South, noting the area once produced sporting icons, but had fallen by the wayside as a leading community in Barbados.
Humphrey said the Stuart-led administration had also failed the constituents in housing. He said they felt cheated in that those who had anticipated moving into low-income apartment complexes at the Grotto and Valerie Housing Projects could no longer do so because they are too expensive.
“Most people who grew up in the Bayland, Brittons Hill and Paddock cannot now get into the Grotto because the rates that they are charging are not for poor people,” Humphrey charged.
