No empty election promises, please – Phillips

Solutions Barbados candidate for the upcoming by-elections in St George North is warning his fellow contenders seeking to win the seat next month, not to play with fire by making promises to constituents they know they cannot keep.

In a statement to the media, Grenville Phillips, the President of Solutions Barbados, declared that the unemployment situation in that constituency is dreadful and he stressed that disappointing voters with false promises is not an option in the by-election set for Nov 11.

“While canvassing in St George North, the unemployed cynical youth appeared hopeful as they listened to our party’s workable plans to bring prosperity to the constituency. The youth can see that the few legal options of achieving prosperity is a measure of how much the political representation system has failed them,” he said.

The candidate noted that while there are six candidates seeking to work for the people of St George North for the next 30 months, it is important that none of them follows the bad examples of former Members of Parliament for the area.

“Candidates who plan to use the desperate unemployed people of St George North as pawns just to secure a seat in the House of Assembly for their party are doing the unconscionable.

“They are ensuring that the people continue to suffer during these exceptionally difficult times. The present suffering is compounded by an unnecessary International Monetary Fund austerity programme and a global COVID-19 pandemic.

“Candidates who make promises that they know they cannot keep are deceiving voters. Candidates who know that they have no capacity to implement their party’s plans push that is deceit beyond tolerable levels,” he said.

The political leader also stressed that career politicians have repeatedly broken their promises to previous generations of voters. He said, in the past, voters had the patience to tolerate and forgive those who repeatedly deceived them with empty promises but the current generation of young voters is different and will not forgive that type of deceit.

He said candidates without any workable economic plans for constituents of St George North are playing with fire.

“Representation must be more than just winning a seat in the House of Assembly for their party. It must be more than becoming ministers to provide the services for which taxpayers have already paid. In 2020, representation must be about bringing growth to the constituency without disadvantaging other constituents,” he said.
(AH)