Minister deems speech by 13-year-old as exploitation

Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development, Steven Blackett is not backing down on his stance that the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) engaged in child exploitation at last Saturday’s ‘March of Disgust’.

During that event, a 13-year- old boy delivered a speech on the BLP platform that gained the applause of the thousands gathered at Jubilee Gardens. However, the minister insisted that his appearance was not appropriate.

“We are not complaining about any child whether intelligent, precocious or not. That is not the point! As far as I am concerned, as the Minister responsible for Child Care in Barbados, that child was used in a partisan, politically irresponsible way and it was the exploitation of a child. It was the lowest form of persuasion and the lowest form of politics. It certainly was not presenting any facts on any meeting on Saturday, it was promoting emotions and any politician that gets so low to use a child in that way, it was a shameful act and I say to the Barbados Labour Party is forever condemned for doing just that,” an impassioned Blackett said.

Speaking during the Estimates debate in the Lower House, he also used the opportunity to knock criticisms of the Child Care Board.

“I am going to stand squarely locked hand in hand with the staff of the Child Care Board. They are working and doing their job as far as I am concerned professionally, from the board down to the last maid,” Blackett insisted.

He said that parents had an obligation to ensure that their children were in a safe environment as the CCB was only called in when the family structures were poor or broken. (JMB)