Phillips pledges sweeping upgrades, reforms for St Peter

Democratic Labour Party candidate for St Peter, Jason Phillips, has unveiled an ambitious plan promising new roads, improved water systems, expanded healthcare and housing reform, as part of a sweeping agenda to revitalise the northern constituency.

At a campaign meeting in the parish, the candidate made infrastructure and road repairs a central pillar of his platform, pledging to lobby for major rehabilitation works across key routes in the parish.

“I will push for a structured road rehabilitation programme for St Peter, with priority corridors including Boscobel to Speightstown and Indian Ground to Speightstown,” he said. “Roads must be properly paved, properly drained, and properly lit. No more patchwork.”

Phillips also promised improvements to street lighting, arguing that residents deserved safer road conditions. “We need some lighting on the roads too,” he said.

Garbage collection and environmental management also formed a major component of his proposals, with the candidate promising more reliable waste collection systems and community involvement in keeping neighbourhoods clean.

“We will advocate for fixed collection schedules, community morning groups, and more waste management partnerships,” he said. “Clean communities foster pride, improve health, and cater to safer neighbourhoods.”

Water reliability and quality were highlighted as another major issue, with Phillips pledging to demand greater investment in the island’s water infrastructure.

“I will demand accountability and investment in water infrastructure, so residents receive clean, reliable water. No household should have to question whether their water is safe to drink,” he stated.

Housing and land ownership reforms, particularly in Six Men’s Village, featured prominently in his address. Promising to ensure residents obtain legal ownership of lands they occupy, he told the audience: “Under my representation, land regularisation will be transparent, time-bound, and properly executed.”

He also outlined additional community development initiatives for Six Men’s Village: “I am going to ensure that there’s a resource centre in Six Men’s for the young people to have somewhere to go. I’m going to ensure that there’s a hard court that children after school.”

Healthcare transformation formed another key campaign promise, with Phillips proposing significant upgrades to the Maurice Byer Polyclinic.

“There’s absolutely no reason why the Maurice Byer Polyclinic cannot be upgraded to a mini hospital,” he said. “It must open 24 hours, seven days a week. We want an ambulance bay with three or four ambulances. We want an accident and emergency department, and I want to have about three or four wards.”

He argued that such an upgrade would benefit residents across northern Barbados, adding that the facility should “cater for all the people in St Peter, all of the people in St Lucy, the northwestern tip of St Andrew, and the northern tip of St James.”

Phillips also outlined plans aimed at boosting employment and economic activity among young people through training and agricultural development programmes. “We will fight for skills training, apprenticeships, digital and technical education, and partnerships with private sector businesses so young people can earn, learn, and build careers right here in St Peter,” he said.

He further promised to support policies aimed at reducing the cost of living, noting, “I will support policies that reduce the price of basic food items, expand local agriculture, and protect the working poor from being crushed by rising costs.”

Following the meeting, Phillips reiterated his campaign message, saying his public visibility and engagement with residents were not strategic but reflective of his personality and approach. “I’m just being me. I go out, I meet people, I listen to people,” he told Barbados TODAY. “People are hurting. The cost of living is way too high for people.”

He also outlined his personal qualifications, adding, “I’ve been a teacher for 26 years. I’m a practising lawyer… What I’m bringing to the table is transformation. I am one of the people.”

Asked to describe his leadership style in two words, he responded: “Energetic and real.”