Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has a problem with the term “yard fowl” which is used to described rank and file “foot soldiers” of both political parties.
He says the term smacks of arrogance as it was political parties and trade unions, both mass-based organizations comprising ordinary people, which have enhanced the quality of life of Caribbean people.
Stuart was at the time addressing the congregation at St Paul’s Anglican Church on Bay Street, St Michael where the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) kicked off 60th anniversary celebrations on Sunday morning with a church service.
Defending the role played by rank and file members, Stuart who is also president and political leader of the DLP noted that when individuals joined the many service clubs in Barbados, no one dismissed them as yard fowls.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart
He lauded the work done by such members, noting they were the ones who took the message of the party across the country without any monetary reward.
The Prime Minister identified the DLP’s first chairman, former Attorney-General Sir Frederick Smith, for special mention, noting that at the ripe old age of 90, he had made a special effort to attend the 60th anniversary service.
Former Prime Minister, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, and former Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Philip Greaves, were also lauded for their contribution to the party and the island by extension.
Stuart told the party faithful that they did not have anything to be ashamed of since it was the DLP which transformed the lives of the ordinary Barbadians over the past 60 years.
In his sermon, Rector of St Paul’s, Canon Wayne Isaacs, addressed the issue of leadership and contended that parties must be inclusive in their practices.
Arguing that divisive leadership in all spheres of life can lead to social chaos, he said: “(Leaders) must never be seen as leaders who only feed themselves.”