A VOTE FOR a female representative has not brought the kind of benefits the people of St John expected, says Barbados Labour Party (BLP) leader Mia Mottley, but a vote for a female prime minister will.
Mottley told party faithfuls at Sunday night’s nomination meeting at St John Primary School that while St John had experience with prime ministers as representatives (Errol Barrow and David Thompson), it did not have experience with economic development. Thompson’s widow, Mara, is the current Member of Parliament.
She was speaking as branch members were in celebratory mode after homeboy Charles Griffith won the nomination. A chant, led by defeated candidate Keith Rayside declaring “Mara must go”, echoed throughout the room and on the outside.
Mottley, who entered the hall just after Griffith was declared winner, said to loud shouts and applause: “If it means that your experiment with a woman as a representative didn’t get you economic development, try this woman as prime minister.”
She added: “There are signs and wonders and today’s date, by accident, happens to be the date upon which St John lost its representative as a prime minister, but today gained its right to economic development in rural Barbados.”
She accused the ruling Democratic Labour Party of ignoring rural Barbados.
“It has not only ignored the plight that you’ve suffered with water; it has not only forgotten to send garbage trucks to you, but the Scotland District has had the greatest amount of land slippage and movement and nothing has been done to preserve the stability of the properties,” she said.
Mottley assured challengers Keith Rayside and Fabian Dandelion Jones that there would be room in the camp for them. (YB)
