Bostic likens gun crime to a Category 5 hurricane
President of Barbados, The Most Honourable Jeffrey Bostic, likened gun crime and gun violence to a Category 5 hurricane, threating the republic.
He was delivering the President’s Address during the official opening of Parliament today.
Deviating from the traditional Throne Speech which articulated the policies of the administration of the day, it identified issues affecting the people and things he deemed of importance.
“Let me now address the major concern that I have as your Head of State. The congestion on our roads is significantly affecting productivity levels, as I said and creating a wave of impatience among road users, but this can be compared to a strong tropical storm when we consider what we classify as the Category 5 hurricane known as gun crime and gun violence,” Bostic said.
“There’s nothing else in my view that threatens all sectors of our society and economy in the way that the continuous wave of gun-related activities does. By far the most serious effect in the aftermath is of course the tragic loss of life and the concomitant psychological and emotional devastation that is inflicted on the families, friends and communities. We must continue to express sympathy and show empathy for those directly affected by this.”
The President said this was affecting all aspects of life from the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to schools, churches, participation in out-of-hours activities, the use of community centres and playing fields and was “restricting the community activities that over the years contributed to the development of our people”.
He noted: “It creates an environment where many communities are paralysed with fear and panic and this will have a long-lasting impact on the psyche of our youth. This crisis affects the economic prospects of village and community establishments that provide a living for many of our people.”
Saying it must be fixed, Bostic acknowledged it did not start overnight nor would it change overnight, but there must be no retreat, no surrender, drawing on his trademark slogan.
“So let us start by acknowledging that gun crime and violence is the outward expression of the frustrations emanating from deeply rooted problems that have not been adequately addressed for decades. We must give our fullest attention to getting to the root of the problem. We all know that cutting off the branches of the tree will be a temporary fix until the branches spring again.”
The President called for engagement of children from the primary level and said it was time for everyone to accept this was a national responsibility to address.
Earlier, Bostic said traffic congestion was another bug-bear impacting the lives of Barbadians.
“We must confront with urgency and innovation the growing challenge of traffic congestion that affects productivity, family life and national well-being. We must also continue to strengthen our health care system ensuring that it is accessible, efficient and responsive to the needs of every citizen particularly the most vulnerable among us,” the President said.
“At the same time we must remain vigilant in safeguarding our democracy, protecting our institutions, upholding transparency and nurturing public trust so that governance in Barbados remains not only effective but accountable and just.”
Bostic said there was “urgent need to resurface and repair the complex network of roads that everyone complained about” which caused unavoidable delay.
“It is my desire that during this parliamentary session both policymakers and technocrats would come together in a way that perhaps has not been seen before to find innovative solutions that would ease the congestion, especially during rush hours.”
He said that failure to address this would “contribute to the growing levels of impatience of our road users and the road rage that ensues”. (SAT)
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