Time to give back, says PM

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is confident that Barbados will have a successful future, but only if its citizens recognise the need to practise “good and constructive citizenship”.

He expressed this view yesterday as he addressed scores of distinguished guests at the Toast to The Nation held at St Ann’s Fort, The Garrison, following the annual ceremonial parade to mark Barbados’ 51st Anniversary Of Independence.

The Prime Minister stated that the first half-century of this country’s Independence could be described as “50 years of entitlement”, because Barbados had to play catch up after attaining Independence in 1966 in areas such as housing, infrastructure and health care.

Stating that the rule of the next 50 years would have to be “ask not what Barbados can do for us, but what we can do for Barbados”, Stuart maintained that there were many more citizens today capable of giving back to Barbados than was the case in 1966 and they had to be mobilised.

The Prime Minister said he hoped that over the next 50 years, Barbados would continue to place people at the centre of its development, and added that he envisioned the country would continue in its efforts to “include all, engage all and benefit all of its citizens”. (BGIS)