IN THE FACE of stinging criticism of the Constituency Councils, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is stoutly defending their “outstanding work” and insists they will remain.
“Constituency Councils are here to stay; those who want to continue to abuse them are free to do so but the abuse is not going to weaken the Government’s resolve,” he told the St Michael South council’s townhall meeting at Graydon Sealy Secondary School last night.
The Opposition Barbados Labour Party, which opposed the councils from their genesis in 2009, recently stepped up its criticism of them and the David Thompson Football Tournament, calling for these to be cut against the backdrop of thousands of public sector retrenchments and a high national debt.
“We never had and up to now do not have the support of the Opposition party in Parliament for these councils,” Stuart told the audience and officials that included Minister of Social Care and Constituency Empowerment Steve Blackett.
