Call for councils to lead the way

Constituency Councils must not retreat!In fact, they must get into the troublesome areas in their communities and get down to the task of making them better.Director of the Department of Constituency Empowerment Kirk Humphrey made it clear on Sunday at the launch of the Constituency Council of Bridgetown that there was serious work to be done in the communities.He told those gathered at Harrison College that although there were communities which presented challenges, the Constituency Councils could not retreat, but should seek to reverse those problems.“There are issues that we do not like to address – like gangs, but there are gangs and we have to address those. We do not like to address the fact that the youth are marginalised and there are some communities that some people are afraid of.“But the St Michael South Constituency cannot retreat; we have to get into the areas like Regent Hill and Parkinson Field, the St James South Constituency Council must be known in Haynesville, must be known as one that will help those people, likewise the Constituency Council in The City must have a say in communities like Emmerton” he noted.“We will not retreat. If we do so, we make it easy for communities  to turn into those like Tivoli Gardens. These councils must serve to reverse this process. The communities of Barbados, rather troubled or not, are the birthright of our people and must be restored,” he cautioned. Humphrey told members of the council he believed they had enough calibre to bring real change to the constituency and urged them not to “bury your heads in the sand”.Chairman of the Constituency Council Monsignor Vincent Blackett, said The City was still grappling with a moral and spiritual crisis. “The situation is one which requires urgent attention which might take years to fix, but we must begin now. At least the physical side of The City has begun to be transformed, but we have to work to improve homes” he noted.He said employment was another major concern for The City.“There are also many beggars, not only the vagrants, but those who are genuinely poor and need help. Bajans are very proud and would rather suck salt and drink water than to ask for help,” he noted.Blackett observed that although it was stated that money was the root to all evil, lack of money too was also the root of all evil.He told residents although the task ahead was not an easy one, given the harsh economic climate, they would do their best to address the needs of the residents.Member of Parliament for the area, Patrick Todd, told residents “there was no political partisanship in the councils, but rather a lot of work to be done”. He pledged to roll up his sleeves and get down to business. Secretary of the council Ann Alleyne, in stating things to be addressed, said she wanted to see a revival of The City; the establishment of a drug rehabilitation centre; the need to bring back singing to the city; ballroom in Queen’s Park; and most importantly a Baxters Road Festival, which would hopefully rejuvenate the area. (CT)