Prime Minister David Thompson??

"Government alone cannot solve all of the problems in Barbados."

Prime Minister David Thompson made this clear last Saturday, while delivering the feature address at the Lions Club of Barbados East’s 22nd Anniversary Charter Dinner and Awards Ceremony, at Accra Beach Hotel and Resort.

Mr. Thompson called for a team approach to cope with these challenging times. He said: "That is why Government is giving support to all organisations that are committed to removing the remaining hurdles to the full empowerment of our people, as a precursor to becoming a developed nation.

"We, therefore, need more committed organisations, like the Lions Club, which focus on defined geographical areas, to cascade the delivery of services to people in their communities."

The Prime Minister stressed that it was Government’s policy to create the conditions for developing and empowering civil society organisations to enable them to make the most of the opportunities created.

"Too often we are finding that vulnerable individuals, poor families and communities are visited by a succession of agencies asking them the same questions and eventually providing assistance in a piecemeal fashion," Mr. Thompson noted.

He expressed the view that "Barbados cannot expect to make a great leap forward to become a developed country with such wasteful duplication".

With respect to the provision of Government services, the Prime Minister indicated that there would be greater inter-agency cooperation and information sharing, to make sure "that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing".

Furthermore, he informed his audience that in addition to sharing information at the highest level of Parliament and the Cabinet of Barbados, a Social Policy Committee had been established to co-ordinate responses to the expressed needs of citizens and residents of this country.

clashley@barbados.gov.bb

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