Press Conference at COVID-19 Update feat. the Hon. Santia Bradshaw

Press Conference at COVID-19 Update feat. the Hon. Santia Bradshaw

Posted by Barbados Government Information Service on Tuesday, April 7, 2020
A COVID-19 update featuring Acting Prime Minister, Santia Bradshaw – April 7, 2020. (PMO)

When the new regime for allowing access to supermarkets starts tomorrow, these businesses will be expected to accept welfare and pension cheques from Barbadians who might not have been able to change these at the post office.

This was confirmed by Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw as she engaged media representatives during a press conference at Ilaro Court this morning.

“… To the best of my knowledge they are facilitating that method as well, because we are mindful that some people would not have been able to cash their cheques on Friday,” she told journalists.

Adding that those persons were really whom Government was targeting with the new measure, because they tended to shop day by day, in terms of their income, the acting Prime Minister said: “Those are the persons that we believe, you know, have the greatest need right now, and even in how we have looked at the basket of items that are available.  We’ve taken into account that there are people who will need a few items to just top up what they may have in their house. But these things are based on the common practices that a lot of the supermarkets see in terms of what shoppers come to the supermarkets, looking to purchase.”

Ms. Bradshaw, however, cautioned that the experience would not be one where persons would have “the opportunity to pick and choose” necessarily what they wanted. 

She stated: “The potatoes may not be the size that you may want or it may not be the type of brand of butter that you may be familiar with, but we’re asking you to appreciate that in this environment, and in this environment only, we are trying our best to just get basic and essential items to the people who need it most … and therefore we ask Barbadians to just work with us to understand the limitations … just understand that this situation is really just for a time.”

joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb

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