Abrahams: Defend us!

Minister of Energy and Water Resource Management Wilfred Abrahams has condemned “fake news” from unofficial sources, being used to discredit the Government.

Abrahams, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Christ Church East was addressing party members attending a Barbados Labor Party (BLP) branch meeting in the constituency when he declared, “the attacks have begun”.

Referencing numerous untrue social media messages about the actions and movements of cabinet Ministers, Abrahams accused power -hungry opposition forces of attempting to destabilize the Government.

“A year has passed and the attacks have begun. You all would have seen the stuff circulating about the Attorney General being in Disney World and all sorts of foolishness,” Abrahams said.

Instead, he explained: “The Attorney General was attending a meeting in Orlando dealing with the crime situation in the Caribbean. He was at an official meeting sanctioned by the Cabinet of Barbados. He was not out there on a frolic of his own. He was not shaking hands with Mickey Mouse, but the reports are coming in.”

In response, he urged members of the BLP’s branch to defend Government’s reputation.

“All I am going to tell you is that when you see those [messages], look at what is in there and reconcile that with the person that you know and you would know this is just a whole set of foolishness and fake news by a desperate set of people who are now out of power and are desperately trying to lay the ground work to get back in.

“The attacks have started and you need to defend the people that you know and you believe in. You all need to defend the people that you walked around in the hot sun with and knocked on doors with and told Barbadians to vote for because you believed in them.

“When people come with foolishness, do not sit down and say nothing. Represent your MP in the same way you want your MP to represent you. When you sit down and say nothing, people feel emboldened and feel that what they are saying or reading is right,” Abrahams stressed.

During the Sunday night meeting, Abrahams responded to complaints from some constituents, who said their interests are being placed secondary to his ministerial portfolio.

To the contrary, Abrahams argued that the country’s 27-member cabinet has been busy trying to “get Barbados working”.

“Somebody recently told me, ‘Mr. Abrahams, I saw you in St. Joseph helping the people with water. I saw you in St. Thomas and St. James. I saw you during a fire at the dump…. I didn’t elect you to help them, I elected you to help me,’” the MP recalled.

“The reality is that we are stretched as Ministers and MPs are trying to correct Barbados on a national level. If we don’t get Barbados working, then the constituencies are not going to work either. I am asking and pleading with you, who are my eyes and ears on the ground, to help me.”

Abrahams also discussed with constituents the need for well-coordinated efforts to prepare for the possibility of hurricanes.

“I would like you to keep checking on those in your area who are vulnerable, who have children and cannot feed their families. That is the sort of information I want on a continuous basis,” he said.