President of Guyana Irfaan Ali will be the headline speaker at the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) 85th annual conference this weekend.
The announcement was made by Conference Chairman Wilfred Abrahams, during the media briefing for the event on Tuesday at BLP headquarters in Roebuck Street.
Abrahams announced that the conference, set to take place at Christ Church Foundation School (CCFS) will kick off on Friday with a cocktail reception and awards ceremony. President Ali will deliver the keynote address on the opening night.
“We invited him and he kindly consented to appear, and since that news has come out there has been a lot of interest generated because everyone wants to hear him speak,” Abrahams said. “They want to hear what’s going on in Guyana, they want to hear from perhaps the fastest-growing economy in the world.”
The conference chairman noted that this year’s theme, Achieving Against the Odds, is particularly relevant for all party members and Barbadians as a whole, considering the many challenges the government has faced and overcome during its tenure.
“When we came to government, we faced what appeared to most as an insurmountable challenge. We had issues with our economy, numerous downgrades, nobody wanted to lend us money, we had the obvious issues with the sewage on the south coast and the Bridgetown plant almost about to collapse. We had issues with foreign exchange reserves, we had no buses, we had no trucks – the litany of woes you all know.
“While we are all not out of the woods entirely, we have made significant strides. So we have a lot to be proud of. We want to contextualise it, how far we have come, what we have left to do and what our plans are to address some of the issues that you have,” Abrahams explained.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley is slated to address the conference on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., the same day delegates gather to discuss party matters and review reports.
This year, 1 200 delegates are expected to attend the conference, including representatives from the party’s Canadian and UK branches. The party’s officers were elected unopposed, with President of the Senate Reginald Farley returning as chairman. Kirk Humphrey remains as first vice chair, Marsha Caddle as second vice chair, and Kurt Haynes as third vice chair.
Dr Jerome Walcott, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, continues as general secretary, while Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Davidson Ishmael, serves as treasurer. (SB)
