Nevis Premier and Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Brantley had high praise for the Labour administration led by Mia Mottley in Barbados, addressing the BLP’s 81st convention on Sunday.
Premier Brantley said Barbados has long been one of the faces of the region on the international scene and now even now as the country faces a number of threats and challenges, Mottley’s BLP is championing the causes of the region while adeptly navigating its own problems at home.
“I have long admired this small country of Barbados. In this admiration, I know I am not alone. Barbados has always been a model of good governance, respect for the rule of law and the gold standard of democratic rectitude in our Caribbean Sea. As a people you have much to be proud of and much that is admired regionally and globally. The voice of Barbados is an important voice in our region and in this world that we now inhabit. In this regard the rich legacy of the Barbados Labour Party which has endured and prospered for now over 4 score years has contributed significantly to the way in which Barbados is perceived regionally and beyond.
“My friends, Barbados, like the rest of our region and world, faces new and ever increasing threats. The hostile international environment … confront us daily. But we also have domestic issues. Debt, job creation, economic growth, education, healthcare, our environment, crime, our youth, infrastructural development, housing and yes sewage are all critical domestic issues that Barbados faces.
“I was privileged to sit in Basseterre, St Kitts earlier this year at the Caricom Heads meeting and again observed the impact of Barbadian leadership on critical regional issues such as the Caribbean Single Market and Economy and the future of regional carriers such as LIAT which are critical to the advancement of the regional integration effort. I have watched the renewed commitment of Barbados to the regional integration process and noted the renewed vim vigor and vitality with which the regional agenda is being pursued.
‘These issues at home and abroad underscore the real difficulties posed to governments here in Barbados and regionally of managing our countries and creating the environment at home where our people can lead fulfilling lives. Indeed the nature of our issues are such that there is no longer a clear demarcation between international and domestic issues. So my friends we must confront issues abroad and at home. We must fight for Barbados and our region in the international arena even as we fight for Barbadians in the domestic arena. And the Commander in Chief in such a fight is your Prime Minister and Party Leader Mia Amor Mottley.”
Premier Brantley extolled his colleague and friend Prime Minister Mottley, whom he branded an extraordinary leader.
He stressed that the voice of the Barbados Labour Party is needed not just domestically but across the region.
“We all recognized as Barbadians went to the polls on May 24, 2018 that change was in the air. As it turned out the Barbadian people demanded and delivered unprecedented change. They not only changed the government but by giving Mia Mottley and the BLP all 30 seats they have changed the historical course of politics in Barbados forever. The BLP has triumphed while the others have been vanquished and discarded to the scrap heap of political history.
I have seen since this change the re-emergence of Barbados to its rightful place of prominence on the regional and international stage under your great leader and Prime Minister Mia Mottley. PM Mottley has reignited the passions of the Barbadian people and created in her short time at the helm the type of dialogue and narrative that has captured the attention of the region and the world.
“Mia Amor Mottley is no ordinary leader. The elements are so combined in her that all of us, even her detractors, can admit that Barbados has now a leader of a special pedigree, a leader that comes along only once in our lifetime. Unlike he who preceded her, PM Mottley does not offer pretty prose for policy nor does she offer pedantry and pedagoguery for substantive practical solutions for the Barbadian people. Her effort is not to sound like Shakespeare or Aristotle or Longfellow by quoting them. Her effort is to sound like herself as she embodies the dreams and aspirations of the Barbadian people and the great Barbados Labour Party.”
Brantley forms part of a tri-party coalition in St. Kitts Nevis that ousted the Labour Party in 2015. He shared a moment of witticism about the reaction at home regarding him addressing a Labour Party Convention.
“Now I confess that my presence here is to some a conundrum of sorts since in my own country I have spent a political career fighting against the St Kitts Nevis Labour Party in St Kitts and it’s wholly owned subsidiary the Nevis Reformation Party in Nevis. Indeed as word spread at home that I was headed here to speak at the BLP Convention, social media lit up with allegations that I had switched to red from my usual resplendent blue. I assure those at home that my presence here today has nothing to do with the politics at home but has everything to do with my deep respect and admiration for the history, the work, the commitment and the stellar leadership of the Barbados Labour Party.”