Government backbencher Trevor Prescod has voiced concern over what he described as the marginalisation of the poor in national discourse, while urging a stronger commitment to empowering small, black tradesmen on Government construction projects.
In a wide-ranging and impassioned address in Parliament yesterday, Prescod spoke about the personal cost of advocating for socially uncomfortable truths, even as he called attention to what he deemed inferior construction quality on some Chinese-run housing developments.
Reflecting on his own battle with cancer more than a decade ago, Prescod recalled how some individuals publicly wished him well while privately anticipating his death. He said that experience gave him unique insight into the duplicity that often underlies public debate, particularly when it comes to issues affecting poor and marginalised Barbadians.
“There’s too much dramaturgy in our politics,” Prescod said. “Too many people perform sympathy, but their policies betray their real interests.”
Prescod, who was contributing to the debate on divesting of lands at Coverley, argued that Government must make a deliberate effort to uplift skilled tradesmen trained at local institutions such as the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and the Barbados Vocational Training Board. He said these men and women should be granted more than just token roles as subcontractors or artisans on projects.
“I would like to see these men reach a stage where they’re not only seen as artisans but also entrepreneurs within the business environment,” he said, lamenting a culture where small contractors must go “cap in hand” to large firms for jobs.
Prescod also took aim at what he labelled the poor quality of work by some Chinese contractors involved in local housing projects. Pointing specifically to defects at housing units in Haggatt Hall, he said the issues – including collapsing ceilings and blocked exits – were not the fault of the Ministry of Housing but of shoddy construction practices.
While noting his longstanding friendship with Minister of Housing Dwight Sutherland, Prescod warned that personal loyalties must never supersede duty to the people. He urged the minister to resist institutional inertia and stay focused on radical, pro-poor reforms.
“Do not be constrained by being institutionalised,” he said.
“Ultimately, the people expect transformation, not just cosmetic change.”
The St Michael East MP also revisited longstanding concerns about land ownership and the legacy of colonial exploitation. He accused the Church of England of hoarding vast tracts of land in parishes such as St John and St George, originally acquired through colonial dispossession. He challenged Government to enter into negotiations with the Church to make some of these lands available for housing developments targeted at poor, landless Barbadians. “This is not just a moral issue; it is a question of equity and good governance,” he said.
“Poor people in this country need land. That’s what I really came here to say.”
Prescod expressed dismay that while churches proclaim benevolence and receive international accolades, they remain unmoved by the housing crisis facing many Barbadians. He recalled that previous attempts to secure a partnership with the Church of England’s trust for poverty alleviation initiatives had been rebuffed.
“They refuse to even consider land swaps or subdivisions for housing. Yet they manage an estate built on the suffering of our ancestors.”
Prescod said the current moment – Barbados’ post-republican era – demands bold, transformative policies, including reparative justice in land use. “This Government must not shy away from compulsory acquisition of land that was stolen from indigenous and African people. We must not return to 1966 with an incomplete mission.”
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