Rawle: Praise for Hinkson

Rawle Eastmond

Wed, February 08, 2012 - 3:40 PM

Parliament has not heard the last of Rawle Eastmond.

Eastmond, who is not returning to electoral politics after withdrawing from his party’s controversial nomination process, made it clear to the Government benches that Tuesday’s sitting of Parliament was not his swan song.

“My contribution today (Tuesday) will not be my swan song. I have enough friends in here to ensure that I don’t slumber and sleep. I will be back,” said an upbeat Eastmond, responding to an aside from the Government benches that queried whether he was making his final presentation.

Eastmond, the 59-year-old Member of Parliament for St James North, said afterwards that he would continue to be loyal and faithful to the constituency he has served since 1991.

“I will continue to serve the people of St James North with vigour because the relationship between them and I is not one of a politician and a voter; it is one of a brother and a sister.

“I am a friend of the people of St James North, a relative of the people of St James North. I love them all. I did a lot for them, especially at the individual level. I never hid from them,” he said.

Eastmond praised his successor, fellow attorney Edmund Hinkson, who has been given the nod by the branch to contest the riding which has been a stronghold of the BLP.

“He is multi-skilled. He has about seven or eight different skills beyond law. He is a very thorough researcher and has a very sharp intellect,” Eastmond commented.

Eastmond said the people of St James North were in good hands.

“Everyone knows that it was me who put his name up. He has a lot of energy and he means well. I like him. He is my friend. He has never snubbed me. He has always respected me.”

In Parliament, Eastmond made the call for specially-designated roads for ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles.
“This clearly will not be something that will be easy to do but it is worthy of consideration. If we can designate roads for emergency vehicles that will reduce travel time by ten minutes or even seven; that can make a difference,” he added. (MK)