Prime Minister’s speech sheds no light, says BLP

Barbadians remain clueless as to how Government intends to tackle the current upsurge in gun violence, which has already claimed over 20 lives this year.

Knocking Sunday’s nationally televised address by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) suggested that the lack of details in addressing the issue was of no comfort to citizens.

“Barbadians are today no wiser on how Government intends to battle the criminal elements that have seen four gun-related murders in nine days last month, plus a number of public shootings. It is shocking that the Prime Minister spent no more than five minutes speaking to crime, and failed to announce any immediate strategy to stem the tide of gun violence. Instead, he spoke of a suite of legislation before Cabinet, but gave no details,” said General Secretary of the BLP, Dr. Jerome Walcott.

In a statement to the media, he highlighted, “Mr. Stuart failed to reassure Barbadians that his Government actually has a plan to fight the escalating gun crime. The Prime Minister failed to demonstrate that he and his administration understand the mood of the country at this time. He demonstrated yet again his utter contempt for Barbadians by his failure to address this urgent issue in a comprehensive manner.”

Walcott also accused the current DLP administration of decimating the enrolment of young people at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and cutting several of the other progressive programmes that gave young Barbadians opportunities to learn skills or start a business.

“It is nothing short of nonsensical and uncaring for the Prime Minister, after every sector of Barbados has been severely damaged by his administration’s inept economic management, to assert the DLP is not concerned with Gross Domestic Product. Instead they are about ‘Gross Domestic Faith, Gross Domestic Hope, Gross Domestic Happiness, Gross Domestic Fairness, Gross Domestic Stability and Gross Domestic Comfort’. None of these things exist in Barbados now. He is only correct about the ‘Gross’. That is, there is Gross Suffering, Gross Despair, Gross Uncertainty and Gross Discomfort in Barbados over jobs, the economy, the cost of living, health, public transportation, roads, crime and surviving,” Walcott stressed.