Chad Blackman was officially sworn in as the new Member of Parliament for St James North during a ceremony today at State House.
The newly elected MP addressed those in attendance shortly after taking the oath of office. He said the time for celebration had passed and it was now time to begin the real work, both in his constituency and at the ministerial level. He was also sworn in as Minister of Educational Transformation, the post he held while in the Senate. On his resignation to contest the by-election, Sandra Husbands assumed the portfolio.
“The honeymoon period was really over for me last night, we had the celebratory events, but now it’s time to respect the mandate – an overwhelming one – and get to work for the people,” he said.
Blackman, representing the Barbados Labour Party, said his first constituency clinic would be held tomorrow and stressed that there would be no pause in his efforts, stating, “there’s no time for relaxation”.
He also revealed that his first official project as MP will be the “Great Initiative”, aimed at capturing and preserving the stories, experiences, and wisdom of elderly Barbadians.
“Our country has been built on the foundation and the backs of those who’ve done many, many things through difficult times and good times but in order for us to go forward as a nation if we don’t capture those moments and those ideals and ideas we will lose and continue to lose at a rapid pace, a base that we can tap into,” he explained. “Generations today and generations tomorrow must be able to do that.”
Blackman’s second planned initiative will focus on boosting agriculture through a cooperative model in the constituency. He said the aim was to infuse technology into farming practices to increase yields, reduce imports, and eventually develop export capacity.
“St James North is rich with not just soil that can bring high yields,” he said, “but when you infuse technology with agriculture you really now can look to ensure that the country can meet a lot of its domestic demands whilst perhaps in the phase two once you can ramp up at scale export in a way that we’ve never done before but at the constituency level.”
Despite his election win, Blackman emphasised that his on-the-ground work would continue, noting that he planned to visit homes, churches, and communities regularly to remain in close contact with constituents.
“The campaign is over,” he said, “but the movement continues.”
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Deputy Primary Minister Santia Bradshaw and other senior members of Cabinet were present for the ceremony. (AM)
