Prescod keen on work in transformation

Former Minister of Environment and National Beautification Trevor Prescod wants Barbadians to know that his recent appointment as special envoy on Reparations and Economic Enfranchisement is not a token and it will require him to put in the work to address serious issues affecting poor people.

Prescod told members of his St Michael East Constituency at the Israel Lovell Foundation last evening, that he has been tasked with dealing with issues of transformation working across various ministries.

“The nature of my discussion is about affirmative actions that must be taken. It is not going to be taken in the Ministry of the Environment or the Ministry of Social Services or the Ministry of Housing.

“I will have to hear from the Prime Minister, and nobody else, what are the other limitations that I have,” he said.

Prescod said he has entered into an arrangement with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley on the role he would continue to play and noted that as long as his duties do not disconnect him from his constituency, he believes it was the best decision for him to make.

“Now tell me if you would ever own a piece of land if they continue to inflate land prices? So I will be fighting for that. There are times when my view would come into conflict, not on a personality clash, or even an intra-institutional clash, my views must come in conflict with somebody because we are trying to change an old order. Some people believe that transformation should take 20 years, I believe it should take 20 days,” he said.

He said he made it clear to Prime Minister Mottley that he would not be engaged in any form of government administration unless he has a direct hand in the development of St Michael East.

Prescod said he has accepted the responsibility to address any problem his constituents are facing including issues in the zone one area.

“If you want housing, I am fighting for housing. And if I am fighting for housing and I can talk to you here and then when I get to the House of Assembly I can’t talk about it because I understand that they can’t fix none in my area, but they are fixing some in other constituencies, they have to explain to me.

“They have to explain to me why they are spending all the money in a specific constituency but you are not bringing anything in mine, and it is subject to my interpretation and yours. So nobody is going to undermine me. Within the next two and a half years I have to address issues in this community,” he said. (AH)