BLP told to persevere and take the nation forward- Reverend Dr Adrian Smith

 

Reverend Dr Adrian Smith suggested Sunday that a Cabinet reshuffle was necessary to help Government steer Barbados in the right direction as the country seeks to bounce back from the economic fallout associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made this assertion this morning at Queen’s Park, The City, at a service of thanksgiving on Day three of the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) 83^rd annual conference.

His statement came on the heels of new Cabinet appointments announced by Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Saturday.

“ . . . Resilience becomes a culture, it becomes the ethos of a people because it is something done over time. And that is why (you talk about) perseverance and that is why you talk about adjusting, that is why you talk about pivoting, that is why you talk about shifting. That is why you talk about adapting because it is just not something for the now, but it is the way I am. I have the capacity and ability to pivot and to shift and to adjust and to adapt because life is dynamic, it is not static. And the more that life is dynamic . . . I would be able to move according to how the waves of life come,” he said. “. . . Members of the executive, you are going to have to let go of some people. You are going to have to get rid of some people . . . We are going to have to do some shuffling. We are going to have to do some moves and some people you just have to say to them ‘thank you (and) goodbye’ . . . Some of the times the people who start out with us don’t finish with us because they don’t have the same vision that we have. They don’t have the same passion. They don’t have the same commitment.

“You need the right people in the right places with the right heart. They have to have the people in their heart in order to move us forward.”

In her address last evening, Mottley announced that Senior Minister of Social Sectors and Environment Dr Jerome Walcott would now take over as Minister of Health and Wellness. The portfolio was previously held by Ian Gooding-Edghill, who will serve as Minister of Tourism and International Transport.

Senator Lisa Cummins, who held the latter portfolio will now assume the Ministry of the Energy and Business Development with responsibilities for International Business and Trade, taking over from Kerrie Symmonds who is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

The former parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Corey Lane, will now serve in the Office of the Attorney-General as Minister of State with responsibility for Crime Prevention.

Smith, who is also senior pastor at the Calvary Moravian Church, told members of the party’s executive that despite the obstacles they must be resilient and finish the task of empowering constituents and taking the nation forward.

“This idea of resilience requires us to finish the mission . . . you have got to complete the task and you have got to complete the assignments and this requires perseverance. This requires endurance. This requires patience . . . Too many of us are giving up. Too many of us are quitting. But what is even more severe is that too many of us are talking about quitting.

“It is the talk that is affecting us cause we are talking about something that we don’t need to do. We are talking about something and creating an atmosphere of negativity. We are talking too much and we are not encouraging . . . We are casting seeds of discord. We are looking to undermine but if you have perseverance, you are not in this for now, you are in this for the long haul.

“And if I am in this for the long haul, I am not going to quit. I am not going to give up. I am not going to resign . . . get a backbone because you need to fight and if you are going to be resilient you are going to have to stand up to some things.”

The pastor also said it was necessary to forgive one’s self and others for mistakes and missteps, pointing out that the unity of the BLP could not survive without forgiveness.

“All of us have made mistakes, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us have messed up. All of us have wasted time. Some of us have squandered resources and yet we have to thank God that some people forgive us (and) gave us another chance; some people give us another opportunity. . . If he has resilience, some of you (will) have to forgive yourself.”

Smith advised Members of Parliament and other Government officials not to lose their soul as they seek to transform and further develop Barbados.

He asked them to guard their integrity, noting that when times were hard it was important to maintain one’s faith and uphold one’s moral compass.

Smith also encouraged the vanguard of the party and other senior members to accept when their time is up and pass on leadership to young upcoming members who deserve the opportunity to guide the party. sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb