BLP LAUNCHES MANIFESTO

THE Barbados Labour Party’s 2022 Election Campaign Manifesto titled, “Our Barbados, Owning Our Future” highlights a set of core values which will help to transform Barbados and a number of accompanying drivers, which will aid with the process of national transformation.
Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley outlined the five core values as set out in the Manifesto and the 12 drivers of national transformation, during the General Elections Manifesto Launch held at the Island Inn yesterday. Mottley said she was “exceedingly proud” of the document, which will give Barbadians the opportunity to be able to see where the nation is at and how her party intends to take it where it needs to go. She meanwhile indicated that a separate youth centric manifesto will be launched as a digital portal soon.
“We have set out to ensure that there are core values of transformation and those core values of transformation you will find in this Manifesto, after you read my message to you that sets context and the Party’s message that sets context. Those core values of transformation are very simple. One – that there must be “People-Centred Leadership”, because that matters. People must be at the centre of what we do as a government. When the crisis hit last year, even year before now, even though we had been streamlining employment in government, we recognised that the private sector could not carry the jobs in the country and therefore, could not be responsible for people being able to earn and live and feed their families. Who stepped up to the late? The government of Barbados ... people centred leadership that is sensitive to the realities of people,” Mottley announced. 

“The second core value is that “Government Must Deliver For All”. We are not delivering for a few people. Government must deliver for all and the truth is that we believe that in doing so, the role of the private sector and the individual small businessman is to maximise profit, but the role of government is to ensure fairness in the public space and transparency and it must not be for one class of people, at the expense of the other” Mottley further noted, whilst pointing to government’s effort in implementing a national minimum wage and increasing the amount for those receiving non- contributory pension, as evidence of her administration’s efforts to deliver to all.
The third core value she said would be Pride and Industry, through Active Citizenship. “Over the course of the last three months, you have heard us speak to this over and over, particularly with the Charter, which imposed on us an aspiration that every Barbadian has a duty to care for each other,” the PM stated.
The fourth core value she listed was that of “Bajan Ownership Matters”. Mottley stressed that the aim is to give Barbadians the opportunity to own property and homes.
“There must be a housing revolution in Barbados, started by this administration. The days of people seeing twenty and twenty-five thousand people on the National Housing Corporation list for fifteen and twenty and twenty-five years (must end),” Mottley declared.
She later revealed that the BLP intends to deliver 10 000 homes in the next five years, if re-elected as the government in the upcoming January 19th General Election, as part of its efforts to address the matter of home ownership.
The last core value Mottley meanwhile mentioned was, “Innovation Drives Opportunity”, where she acknowledged that the digital revolution provides an avenue through which greater economic activity can be generated.
As it relates to the Drivers of National Transformation, Mottley said, “The first driver of national transformation is transforming Barbadian ownership and financial security. The second driver is transforming Barbadian benefits from renewable energy. The third, transform Barbadian home ownership. Fourth, transform Barbadian communities and family life. Fifth, transform Barbadians’ national identity and active citizenship. Six, transform Barbadians’ education and skills development. Seven-transform Barbadian’s governance. Eight, transform Barbadians’ jobs and work opportunities in new sectors. Nine, transform Barbadians’ quality of life. Ten, transforming Barbadians’ health and well-being. Eleven, transforming Barbadians’ infrastructure and public spaces and finally twelve, transforming Barbadians’ resilience and safety.”
Each of these drivers has a number of programmes that will not be limited to any one particular Ministry Mottley said, noting that Barbadians will hear more as the election campaign continues.