Clarke urges hesitant to take COVID-19 vaccine

The man who has been praised for playing a significant role in assisting the country’s recovery from the economic crisis of 2018 is stepping down from office with a consistent message for the healing of Barbados’ now pandemic-ravaged economy – take the vaccine!

In 2018 when Edward Clarke rose to the chairmanship of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA), the country was at the beginning of a process to address its “perilous” state.

“Our finances in this country were in a terrible state, huge debts, no management or forward vision as far as we could see. No one wanted to lend us anything. Our roads, our sewage, our garbage, our buses, our port, almost every single thing in Barbados needed urgent attention. That was 2018,” Clarke recalled.

On Friday, the former Sagicor executive was the toast of his colleagues in the private sector as well as his partners in Government and the trade union movement who, for the past three years formed key pillars within the Social Partnership, particularly as co-chair of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Monitoring Committee.

Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations Colin Jordan lauded Clarke’s effectiveness in defending the interests of the private sector and displaying his ability to work with the Government while maintaining an independent voice.

“Through your chairmanship of the BPSA you were able to effectively maintain a unified voice for the Barbados Private Sector informed by its membership and the other directors,” said Jordan.

“You were able to participate in debates on economic and social policy issues and examples of these are your personal participation in recently held town hall meetings as they relate to COVID-19 vaccinations as well as participation in discussions on the national minimum wage.”

Particularly commendable in Jordan’s opinion, was the private sector’s “mature” stance on the removal of the controversial Lord Nelson statue during Clarke’s leadership.

General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union Toni Moore, who co-chaired the BERT Monitoring Committee alongside Clarke remembered his “unwavering firmness” and his wealth of knowledge on issues of national importance.

“It is perhaps there that I took note of Ed’s tremendous genuineness to see this country move forward, his tremendous courtesy and commitment to finding consensus even where conditions could otherwise have led to divisiveness and even where it was not lost on the rest of us that he did not fully agree with some of the positions taken,” said Moore.

“I am really satisfied that even as you represented your grouping, you always opened up yourself to see all of the other elements that we would want you to see as well.”

As Clarke leaves the position, however, another crisis threatens to devastate the strides made between 2018 and 2021 in stabilising both the economy and society.

“Our country needs bold, fearless leadership with a clear vision for this country. In the private sector, we have to be bold, we have to be fearless,” declared Clarke.

But he did not shy away from his relentless refrain about the importance of the vaccination drive on the country’s continued recovery.

“This country needs every single Barbadian possible to get vaccinated as soon as possible. I will not give up. I know some will think ‘thank God he is gone, we won’t be hearing that again’, but you will be. I can assure you will be hearing from me still on that.

“The only way we are going to seriously address this issue is to fully vaccinate those on the frontline, those in healthcare and all frontline workers in Barbados, especially those in the hotel and tourism industry and I maintain that as a goal. This country cannot escape it and it needs to happen,” Clarke said.

As she steps in to fill the void left by Clarke, Trisha Tannis honoured her immediate predecessor for guiding with “enviable dignity, forbearance” and “calm” leadership.
(KS)