Bye-bye beloved Bostic – a man for all seasons

He sat at his work desk in his office for the last time on Tuesday as Minister of Health. Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, outgoing Member of Parliament for The City of Bridgetown, reminisced on his time as health minister over the last three and a half years, as he gave a sneak peek into what it was like being involved in politics.

His political career began just over 15 years ago when he officially joined the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). Bostic, who served roughly 26 years in the Barbados Defence Force (BDF), had no intention of getting involved in the political arena until he was approached in 2004 and asked to run in the 2008 general election, replacing long-serving City of Bridgetown representative Dame Billie Miller.

He said the decision to accept the offer was not one taken lightly having spent the first 21 years of his life in Chapman Lane, The City and therefore understanding the people and their needs. Bostic said while he lived other places across the island, his favourite place was Chapman Lane, because it helped “made me who I am”.

“I was molded by people in that area. They looked out for me,” he recalled.

“When I was approached I honestly had to give it a lot of thought because it meant retiring a bit early from the military to be able to do that and I was enjoying my job at the time, which was working as director of operations and training with the Regional Security System (RSS).

“The only reason I accepted, even though I knew it would be a very difficult assignment, is because it was The City of Bridgetown, and I felt there were things I could achieve on behalf of the people of The City of Bridgetown. That is the reason I decided to accept,” he said.

During his time in the military, Bostic also served as equerry (personal attendant) to Queen Elizabeth II during her last visit to Barbados and as aide de camp to then Governor General Sir Hugh Springer.

The former Combermerian retired from the BDF in 2006 so he could start his political career. While he ended his military career as the Commanding Officer of the Barbados Regiment and Director of Operations at the RSS, Bostic held several other ranks over the years.

He also played some sports, representing Barbados in table tennis at one point. Speaking with the media from his Culloden Road, St Michael office, Bostic took a look back at some of the highs and lows he experienced over the course of his political life, and especially over the past three years.

He acknowledged that while there were several highs and lows, he was satisfied that one thing was for sure – he left the Ministry of Health better than he found it – and he hoped his successor will do the same.

“I would rate my time here as being a very enjoyable one. It has been very productive and I am glad a number of things that the Prime Minister had tasked me with and some I wanted to do on my own, we have been able to do; not everything, but quite a bit,” he said.

Bostic said some of his proudest achievements included the implementation of a 24-hour service polyclinic; bringing in close to 100 nurses from Ghana to help with the human resource shortage; the completion of the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital; starting a national non-communicable disease programme; commencing a national cardiology project and a nutrition policy for school children; being able to formalise arrangements for eligible CARICOM nationals to access health care services similar to Barbadians; and starting of the process of integrating necessary systems in the health care systems.

“There were a few lows, and those lows for me really have to do with not being able to achieve certain things,” said Bostic.

He said he regretted not being able to complete plans for the St John polyclinic, start the building of a new geriatric hospital, the setting up of a national rehabilitation centre, a hospice and better integration of the civil society organisations into the work of the Ministry of Health.

However, Bostic said he was confident those objectives would be completed by his successor. Perhaps his tenacity as Minister of Health was most tested over the last one year and 10 months, when he was faced with leading the island’s charge in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bostic said it was his exposure, experience and the high level of discipline he garnered while in the BDF and in various military training that helped him along the way.

Some staff members at the Ministry of Health’s Culloden Road, St Michael office told Barbados TODAY they enjoyed working with Bostic as Minister of Health, as they lauded him for being “considerate, easy to work with, amenable to listen, firm but fair and able to command his team in difficult situations and crises”.

Bostic, who had no formal training in health services, said if he had a chance to choose his ministry, his first choice would have been that of national security.

However, he said other options were tourism, education or youth and sports, given his love. However, he said he did not mind taking charge of the Ministry of Health portfolio.

He said when he decided to enter politics he made up his mind that he would not let it control him or define him. He said he decided from day one that it would be a job of service to the community, adding that he learned some lessons along the way.

“So I did not approach politics like some other people. I am not saying I cannot be adversarial but I do not practise being adversarial. So I tend to get along with almost everyone,” he said.

“But I also learnt that in politics today you can be a hero and tomorrow a villain. You cannot be everything to everyone all the time nor at the same time . . . That was a lesson for me, and not to make promises that you cannot keep,” he said.

He said he believed every Barbadian should “give back” to the country and their communities after they benefit from education and training.

He advised anyone thinking about a political career and those now entering the political ring to ensure they were ready to serve and empower people.

“It has to be about service. It really is about service.

If you come into it with anything else in mind you are going to end up in a lot of trouble. It is about service and if you want to be a leader in your constituency you have to be a servant leader, if you cannot serve the people you intend to lead then you ought not to lead the people who you want to service you,” said Bostic.

“You have to be able to face up to criticisms, and they will come in all forms and fashion. You can’t just fly off the handle at everything.

“You have to be able to respect others’ opinions, and there will be alternative views to you at all times, but at the end of the day you have to do what you think is right for the people that you are leading and serving in the constituency He warned against entering politics “to get rich”, stating that some politicians did not make a lot of money as some people believed and “there are no riches except the riches in your heart”.

Bostic, who spent the majority of his first year learning the ins and outs of the Ministry of Health, also cautioned his successor to listen to the staff and technical people within the ministry.

“Because you are minister it doesn’t mean that you are suddenly the expert on everything or anything. That is the challenge,” he said.

“I expect that who replaces me will make it better than it was when I hand it over to them. The person who comes here is batting on the platform that is better than when I took it,” he said.

His education started at the then St Mary’s Infants and Junior School. He also did studies at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (UWI), where he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Caribbean and Latin American Studies. Bostic also attended a number of UK and US-based military training institutions.

He said despite the demands from his jobs over the years, one thing he really enjoyed in his spare time was ‘liming’ with his friends in the community in which he grew up and attending church.

“Generally speaking, I like to meet people and interact with people. There is a lot of life beyond work for me. Regrettably, I have not always had all the time to enjoy all of those things because the jobs I have done really have taken up a lot of time because it was about service,” said Bostic.

Acknowledging that his careers over the years resulted in him spending less time with his family than he would have liked, Bostic, who is a grandfather, said that was one area on which he would now be channeling a lot of his energy.

The lover of most sports said he was not yet in a position to say what projects he would take on now that he has more time for himself. However, he made one thing clear – that he would be taking “a few weeks without doing anything at all; just to relax”.

Bostic, who spent the last day in office monitoring the COVID-19 developments and interacting with staff, said even as he goes on full retirement he was still willing to continue to offer his service where possible.