Constituents not all happy with Abrahams’ representation

Three years after the people of Christ Church East overwhelmingly turned their backs on the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) Dr Denis Lowe in a massive show of support for his Barbados Labour Party (BLP) opponent Wilfred Abrahams,  it now appears the incumbent may have to do some convincing to hang on to as many of the 4,432 votes he received in that 2018 poll to retain his seat

A visit to the constituency by a Barbados TODAY team on Monday to try to gauge the mood of the people leading up to the January 19 general election, found that several residents, some of whom are believed to have voted for Abrahams, now appear to be questioning the quality of his representation and the leadership of his party since taking office.

A retired civil servant who confessed to being a die-hard supporter of the BLP, has now made it clear, he would not be voting this time, far less for the incumbent MP.

“I am 78 years old. From the time I could have voted, I never voted for any other party by the BLP. The very last election that they had, I was in Bay Street hollering fuh murder. When the results were coming over, I kept hollering out, ‘yuh gine kill dem, yuh gine kill dem?’ But I am saying to you, regardless of how good the Barbados Labour Party is, I think that the leader of the Barbados Labour Party is too pompous and too bossy,” said the Parish Land resident who gave his name only as Grantley.

He added: “That is one of the reasons that I am saying this time around these fingers of mine…I am not voting. I am disappointed with the leadership. What is my representation? Nothing. No politician has not done anything good for me. I am saying to you, that the reaction that I am hearing is mixed. I belong to a club and the reaction is mixed because the representation is too pushy, too bossy.”

Also in Parish Land, an 87-year-old constituent, who preferred to remain anonymous insisted that while he supports Prime Minister Mia Mottley, “there is no way Abrahams can get my vote”.

The retired artisan complained that he only sees the incumbent on TV contending that he would not have a problem if he even passed once a month and “shout for we.”

“If I could get 75 people to say ‘no’ to Abrahams, I would be happy. He does not come up in here,” declared the Parish Land resident.

Another man who was walking past during the Barbados TODAY interview with the elderly constituent, paused long enough to loudly praise Lowe as an excellent representative who happened to be associated with the wrong party.

However, the man who asked to be named “Anyhow” declared his full backing for the BLP.

Over in Lower Wilcox, Esther expressed her doubts as to who would be victorious and refused to be drawn into giving Abrahams the nod.

In Upper Wilcox, a retired public officer whose house is located near the runaway of Grantley Adams International Airport, is also questioning the representation of the BLP candidate.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, said the only politician who had said anything to her about relocating to make way for the airport redevelopment was Lowe.

She said the government has told the people in that area not to repair their houses because they were allocated to move.

She complained that it is years now and nobody, including Abrahams has updated them regarding the state of their houses and relocation, even though she had observed a new house being built nearby.

“That house that they are building there since it was damaged by the last hurricane…nobody has come to us and told us why a house was being built there and why we can’t also build or repair ours,” the disgruntled constituent told Barbados TODAY.

She said while she did not have a problem with the incumbent Mia Mottley administration, Abrahams or some other official needed to tell her what was going on with the existing spots.

Lisa, is an employee of the National Conservation Commission  while sitting in her verandah at Hopewell Development, delivered some brickbats on Abrahams stating that the incumbent MP “hasn’t done anything” for the three years he was in power.

“Abrahams came to us in 2018 and told us you want the vote. The people trusted you and gave you the vote. But you did not do anything. On the other hand, Mr Denis Lowe, I feel he should be the next representative for Christ Church East.  He did a very good job in this constituency by helping many people to get jobs. He tried to help everybody in every household. Right now I have a job at NCC because of Dr Denis Lowe.

Another constituent who was waiting to catch a ZR in Silver Sands, complained that she has been living in the area for 26 years and a road which had never been fixed, had now gotten repaired on the eve of a general election.

The young woman, who preferred to remain anonymous was adamant she sees no reason why she should vote in this election noting she has not received the kind of assistance expected.

Renacco Yarde, a 15-year-old student who was walking along Silver Sands Road with his 15-year-old friend Sheldon Lorde also observed that roads were only now being repaired because an election is in the air.

“I don’t think this is a good sign. It means he [Abrahams] only care about the vote,” Renacco declared. He is supporting Lowe to retain his seat.

However, Stanley Greaves, a wheelchair-bound resident is throwing his support behind Abrahams, along with his neighbour who asked not to be identified.

The Barbados TODAY team while moving around in the constituency,  saw a freshly-paved road along Ealing Grove and workmen from COW Williams Construction busy fixing a nearby one at the corner of Harringay Drive.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb