Liz Thompson to head COVID-19 communications team

The Prime Minister announced Friday she was taking steps to improve the quality of Government’s communication to citizens on the COVID-19 situation, as she vowed more information on developments here will soon be made more available to Barbadians.

Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Health Minister Liz Thompson is to return home to lead a dedicated communications team to help distribute information in a timely manner, she told the nation.

The four-member team would also include the president of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP), Dr Lynda Williams, as well as former editor at the Nation Publishing Company Limited Tyson Henry, she said.

Mottley said she had one other person in mind but had not yet finalized discussions with them.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that Government’s communication to its citizens as it related to COVID-19 needed to be improved.

Mottley said: “With respect to the issue of us moving forward with persons and communication we accept that the communication of the Government can be a little stronger and better on this issue, but in particular the Ministry of Health. Health communications is a dedicated field.

“As a result, I have agreed with the Minister of Health and with the chairman of Cabinet’s COVID-19 Sub-Committee, [Foreign] Minister [Jerome] Walcott for the establishment of a dedicated health communications team, because the truth is that as we are doing all of this and speaking to you we are still busy trying to execute and bring things together.”

“We are juggling a lot and therefore I am not going to fool you. This notion that we can come here every day or even Minister Bostic or Minister Walcott is going to be difficult and hence that health communication is critical while we at the same time keep the nuts and bolts going.”

She said while she had planned to recall Thompson to work from Barbados as ambassador plenipotentiary from the end of January, she has asked her to move that date up to this weekend.

Mottley said Thompson, who tested positive for COVID-19 last year, would provide an invaluable contribution to the team and recalled she led Barbados’ fight against HIV/AIDS as health minister.

The Prime Minister insisted that the move was not a knee-jerk reaction as she had already designated Ambassador to Beijing Francois Jackman, a career foreign service officer, to transfer to New York to become the new UN ambassador.

Mottley said: “We were bringing Ambassador Thompson home to be able to deal with a number of issues because one of the consequences of the COVID has been the fact that most business and diplomatic business, a lot of it is taking place at capital now, plus we have some serious issues with law of the sea and the seabed authority that I want her to focus on.

“Clearly, this has happened and I have asked her, therefore, to defer on that and to allow us to get through this period of communications as we go forward.”

She conceded that Government had also not adequately communicated with BAMP and would be looking to improve its communication in the future. (RB)