Politics
Hints of possible split as Barbados government minister vows to speak out
A senior Barbados government minister says he is uneasy about the direction of the island’s economy and promises to make his position public. Agriculture Minister and former finance minister, Dr David Estwick, told reporters, on Wednesday, that he was prepared to put the country above politics when he makes a full statement on the state of Barbados’ economy.
He told reporters, “I am going to make my statement very, very soon on what my position is… I was a man before I got into politics, and I can stay one if I am out of it.” He also added, “But I will do what I believe I have to do, honestly and diligently in the interest of Barbados and in the interest of my children and grandchildren to come.”
The Barbados government has said it would soon lay off 3,000 public servants as it seeks to turn around the ailing economy. Although trade unions have called on the Fruendel Stuart administration to reconsider proposals they have submitted for consideration, Finance and Economic Affairs Minister, Chris Sinckler, has said these proposals do not go far enough.
Sinckler said that the government has already drawn up a list of public workers to be dismissed. The government had originally indicated that the dismissals would have started on January 15, but agreed to a delay because the necessary list had not been prepared. Conversely, Estwick told reporters that he has served as a government minister from 2008 and prior to that he was the spokesperson on Finance and Economics during the prolonged period in Opposition.
“In fact between January 2000 and 2008 I served as minister of health with the responsibility for hospitals, the Barbados Water Authority, the Sanitation Services Authority and the National Insurance Scheme,” said Estwick who served as the minister responsible for economic affairs and economic planning between the period October 2008 and October 2010. Additionally, the senior minister said he had also held the trade, industry and commerce portfolio before becoming minister of agriculture.
He went on to say, “In fact, I’m the only minister who served as the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Policy and the Chairman of the Infrastructural Committee of the Cabinet. Very, very soon I intend to enter this national debate that is now raging on public finance and economic issues.”
Estwick stated that his family resides in Barbados and due to his love of country, he said it “would be a dereliction of my duty as a Barbadian not to outline to Barbados my perspectives as a minister and as a citizen of this country.” He also told reporters, “ I… can no longer sit silent while the Barbados economy is having its present macroeconomic challenges, whether or not our present path is the right one or the wrong one and what is the path I think should be pursued.”
He would also go on to say that he could also not sit by “when this debate is raging on and when the outcome of any action may seriously undermine the stability of this country… This is not the time to be pig headed or this is not the time to close off all options. This is the time for innovation, this is the time for creativity and this is the time that every single option must be evaluated clinically and surgically in the interest of Barbados.”
Source: Caribbean360