Barbados will be getting a new award that will be equivalent to the Knight of St. Andrew.
This disclosure came this evening from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at the ceremony to rename Spring Garden Highway after seven-time Road March King, MacDonald “The Mighty Grynner” Blenman. The stretch of road will now be known as The Mighty Grynner Highway.
Ms. Mottley said just over a week ago she had asked the Cabinet Secretary to prepare the documentation for the new award.
She pointed out that the country’s highest award under the Order of Barbados was the Knight of St. Andrew.
“We must claim our destiny and we must establish an equivalent award under the Freedom of Barbados, so that Barbadians who do not want to be known as Sir or Dame of St. Andrew can still have the highest national award in this island…. Those persons, in claiming the Freedom of Barbados, will be hereinafter known as the Most Excellent,” she disclosed.
During her feature address, the Prime Minister publicly apologized to those promoters who had been experiencing various challenges with government agencies as they planned for their fetes.
She said she had met with the Barbados Revenue Authority and asked that the hurdles be removed.
“In fact, we have agreed that the one stop licence shall be issued from the National Cultural Foundation as of next week, for the balance of Crop Over….
“Similarly, in reviewing the legislation, I recognize that it is a 34-year-old piece of legislation that needs reviewing. I have asked the Attorney General to please lead the effort of allowing us to be able to review the public entertainment legislation because I am not sure what role the Comptroller of Customs really has in this process, and is the Comptroller of Customs the best person in 2019 to be able to determine whether a person should get a licence for public entertainment or not? I think not,” she stated.
Ms. Mottley praised the Mighty Grynner, saying the outstanding calypsonian was a fine example to imitate, noting that he has remained humble in spite of his successes.
During the ceremony, a number of Grynner’s peers, including the Mighty Gabby, Red Plastic Bag, Ras Iley and Mighty Destroyer praised him and said he was indeed deserving of such recognition.
Later in the evening, Prime Minister Mottley and Grynner, accompanied by Minister of Creative Economy, Culture and Sports, John King, unveiled the street sign and monument bearing the calypsonian’s name.