With the general elections exactly three weeks away, the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) candidate for St James South, Dr Ronnie Yearwood has given the assurance that the party is fully behind president Verla DePeiza.
Speaking to members of the media today while on the campaign trail, Yearwood distanced himself from rumours that the DLP was looking to replace DePeiza as the leader.
He also dismissed suggestions that his name was being bandied about as a possible replacement.
“As with any political party, there are always factions or different groups in a party, that is normal. Every party is a broad church, you have different interests. That does not mean the party is not united and I think that kind of talk is loose talk. It can equally be applied to the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). There’s been equal rumblings on the other side,” said Yearwood, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.
“The reality is that we are in an election campaign, the party is behind its leader and we are just on the ground trying to reach the constituents and I really don’t think we should engaged in that kind of conversation because that is not about the needs of Barbadians. People are suffering, the cost of living is high, the inability of government to address that during COVID, the inability of government to provide jobs, the inability of government to start unfinished projects and that really has been the hallmark of this government. All of the projects announced have not been started.
“Talk of leadership rumblings on either side is loose talk and we really should be concerned with what Barbadians are concerned with and the issues they are facing on a daily basis,” he contended.
Yearwood said he believed the DLP had a good chance of unseating the BLP in the upcoming elections.
He said the response from residents in St James South had been good so far.
“I think we can and I believe we can. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think that we have the ability, that we’re ready, that we are prepared, and that we are bringing our A game.
“The response on the ground has been positive to our campaign. People are engaging with us, people are sharing their concerns. A lot of the concerns in this community, as you would appreciate it is a diverse community where you have very high income groups, you have low income groups and you have those in the middle, so you have concerns ranging from issues with pensions, to kids not having access to the internet, to persons unemployed, youth unemployment. So there is a range of concerns,” Yearwood pointed out.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb
