CABINET MINISTER Mr. Vic Johnson who was in Washington for talks with the Inter-American Development Bank, was literally left speechless on hearing of Tom Adams’ death.
Mr. Johnson received the news while he was having a late lunch in the dining room of the Georgetown Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“Are you kidding?” was his immediate response when the news was conveyed to him.
Later, the Minister of Labour said that he had spoken to Mr. Adams at great length on Sunday and they had discussed the progress of the negotiations over the awarding of the contract for the construction of the $90 million industrial access road.
“One of the last things he said to me was that I should remain on in Washington and bring home the ‘bacon’,” Mr Johnson recalled.
The expression “bring home the bacon” meant that Mr. Johnson should remain in Washington and return home with an agreement from the IDB along the lines that Barbados wanted.
The minister termed Mr. Adams an “outstanding leader”, a prime minister who presided over his Cabinet “with considerable informality”.
“It is going to be a considerable loss to the country and to the West Indies,” he said. “The loss is going to be felt regardless of the people’s political persuasion.”
Terming Mr. Adams an interesting prime minister, Mr. Johnson said that he was the kind of leader who “assigned responsibility” and allowed ministers to function.
One of the things the minister said he found so shocking about the sudden death was that he didn’t appear to manifest any kind of stress that one normally associates with cardiac disease.
He described Mr. Adams as a person who had a keen intellect, and was a strong and dynamic leader; a person who was not afraid to take the hard decisions, even if they were politically unpopular.
“He had a vision for the country and he took many decisions which many people didn’t like but in the end they worked out well for the country,” he added.
Mr. Johnson recalled the occasion that Mr. Adams invited him to join the Cabinet; but he persuaded me that I should indeed shelve my plans and serve the country in another capacity,” he added. “He was a great man, secure in his way as Prime Minister of the country.”