Barbadians urged to restore respect for authority

A government minister on Tuesday sounded the alarm over a growing culture of disrespect among young Barbadians, warning that a breakdown in respect for authority is threatening the nation’s democracy and social fabric.

Minister of Training and Tertiary Education Sandra Husbands, the Member of Parliament for St James South, told the House of Assembly that when people lose respect for national institutions and leaders, it sends the wrong message to children and undermines the country’s democracy.

She warned that signs of this breakdown are already evident in schools and on the streets. “When you have a situation, Mr Speaker, where a child becomes angry about something and feels that he is within his right to decide that he’s gonna pick up a rock and pelt at a teacher, something is wrong,” Husbands said. “When you have a police officer confronting a citizen and directing that citizen to comply with a lawful order and that citizen decides that he does not want to comply with that order, then we are having a breakdown.”

Her comments came as she threw her support behind the Parliamentary Reform Commission’s (PRC) report, saying it is time to rebuild trust in Parliament and respect for the offices and symbols that represent the nation.

Husbands warned that Barbados must guard against rising cynicism towards Parliament, which she said could embolden anti-democratic forces and threaten national stability.

She said that when people lose faith in Parliament, it becomes easier for anti-democratic forces to gain ground and cause trouble.

Reading from the PRC report, she said: “In some countries, the growing cynicism about parliamentarians has caused anti-democratic forces to become emboldened, occasionally with violent effect. And while Barbados has done well, it cannot be complacent.”

Husbands said it is now more important than ever to rebuild trust and show Barbadians that their Parliament is working for them.

“We have a responsibility to bolster confidence in this institution and in the people who come here and sit here to represent people,” she said.

To help combat misinformation and rumours, Husbands suggested regular ‘question time’ in the House involving voters, in addition to MPs, so ministers can answer people’s concerns directly.

“Whether it is on a periodic basis that the general public can send in questions, the clerk of Parliament can sort them according to topics and summarise them so that they can be addressed — I think that’s a good thing,” she said, cautioning that without open answers, misinformation spreads easily online and misleads people.

“If we’re able to come in here every week and address something, we’ll be able to ensure that the public gets the truth and nothing but the truth.”

She said Barbadians should never take their democracy for granted, reminding fellow MPs, “If the country is to continue on its path of a stable and peaceful democracy, public trust and confidence in Parliament must be strengthened and cynicism arrested and reversed if possible.”

Husbands also pointed to the poor upkeep of official buildings as a sign of neglect: “When I look at the state of the State House that needs renovations, when I look at Government Headquarters, it is painful when you look at the Prime Minister’s residence. And why is it that we have not prioritised making sure that these symbols, these national symbols of our country, of our republic, look up to date, up to mark, and well cared for?”

“The issue here is not the person in the office. The point here is that the office must be upheld and the institution must be upheld,” she added. (LG)