The man who is seeking to retain the St James North seat for the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has made a remarkable accusation againg the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration, charging that three ministers in the Freundel Stuart administration admitted to neglecting the constituency because it is a BLP stronghold.
Edmund Hinkson, who won the seat in 2013, told a public meeting at the Sion Hill playfield last night the admission by the ministers confirmed what he already knew: that the DLP was punishing constituents because they did not support the governing party.
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BLP candidate for St James North Edmund Hinkson (centre) surrounded by supporters at last night’s meeting.[/caption]
“That is the attitude of a Government that has told me - three ministers - that they’re not spending one single cent in St James North, or on anybody in St James North. They kept their promise,” Hinkson said.
“Just because St James North does not vote DLP a position was taken by this Government that they will not spend any money in St James North,” he added.
To back his claim Hinkson cited as an example an elderly gentleman for whom he had sought housing assistance.
He said years of persistence led to nothing, and the man died without ever getting help.
“From the time I became a Member of Parliament I had been writing various Government ministries asking for assistance in terms of building him a home as is the right of any Barbadian,” the incumbent said.
The BLP has dominated the St
James North seat since it was created in 1981, losing just once, in 1986 when the DLP swept the polls with a 24 to three result in the then 27-member Parliament.
Hinkson last night complained that in response to a letter of appeal to Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley for badly needed road repairs in 2015, he was told that the roads needed too much work.
He also said key ministries and state agencies such as the Ministry of Housing, the Rural Development Commission, the Ministry of Social Care and the National Assistance Board were equally dismissive “just because it is in St James North”.
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