Government

CIBC’s Donation Will Allow Ministry To Build Capacity

The One Family Programme has received another injection of funds from CIBC Caribbean.

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, received the donation of $8,000 on behalf of the programme, during a hand over ceremony at the Warrens Office Complex, Warrens, St. Michael, on Monday. Mr. Humphrey said the funds would assist in educating and training many individuals.

CIBC Barbados’ Country Manager, Kemar Polius, who presented the cheque, stated it was the bank’s second year participating in the One Family Programme.

He expressed pleasure at partnering again with the Ministry, saying: “But going beyond that, going all the way back to COVID [19 pandemic], we would have supported the Ministry in supporting the people in our community.

“This is exceptionally dear to us, as a bank. We are from this community, and we want to give back. So, we are very proud to be a part of this.”

Minister Humphrey, thanking the representative of CIBC Caribbean as well as the team assigned to Government’s One Family Programme, remarked: “This is the second time, officially, in relation to the direct contribution to the One Family Programme, but the Ministry has a relationship with CIBC. Last year, around the time of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, they … donated $8,000, and again today, we are receiving a contribution of $8,000.

“And, we made the commitment, last year, that the funds that come into the Ministry, by any organisation, we would be in a position to trace where those funds went and directly what the funds contributed to.”

He pointed out that with last year’s donation, the Ministry was able to support, through the Barbados Hospitality Institute of the Barbados Community College,15 families “who would have been training in work pertaining to housekeeping and so on”.

Adding that most of those persons are either working or in the process of getting work, Minister Humphrey told Mr. Polius: “So, you were able to directly contribute to empowering a family.”

Also highlighting the importance of training as an essential component to breaking the scourge of poverty, Mr. Humphrey said: “People’s capacity to work. People’s capacity to earn is the fundamental component, along with the many other pillars in the One Family Programme – counselling, healthcare, access to education, housing, many things. But definitely, if you can get more people working, we feel that we would be able to break poverty. And those funds were used to help us empower people to work, give them official training.”

He noted the funds would also be used to assist individuals to enhance their reading skills as they participate in a reading programme, being facilitated by Babb’s Reading Clinic, this summer.

Minister Humphrey pointed out that not only would there be a major focus on training/capacity building, with respect to the One Family Programme, but this would also be the case with the new Social Empowerment Agency and Crime Prevention Programme.

Adding that training is “the critical component to moving the needle forward”, he said: “We are very thankful for this support. It goes directly to our work in the Ministry, and it will change lives in a real and a meaningful way.” (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey (second from left), receives a donation of $8,000 for the One Family Programme from CIBC Barbados’ Country Manager, Kemar Polius (left) while Project Development Manager, One Family Programme, Nicole Daniel and Deputy Permanent Secretary, Mark Franklin, look on

Government

Attorney-At-Law Sandra Rawlins Is New Public Counsel

Attorney-at-law Sandra Rawlins is the new Public Counsel in the Office of Public Counsel, Ministry of Energy and Business.

Ms. Rawlins was appointed on promotion to the position with effect from April 15, 2025.

The new Public Counsel said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Barbados and promised to do her best along with her staff, to protect consumers’ rights and advocate for them in accordance with the law.

“My immediate plans for the organisation are to handle consumer complaints expeditiously; to have a website set up before the end of this financial year; and to continue our programme of education to consumers and suppliers,” she shared.

Prior to this appointment, she acted as Deputy Solicitor General with responsibility for Contracts and International Law, in the Solicitor General’s Chambers for about two and a half years.

Ms. Rawlins was called to the Bar in Barbados in 2006, after successfully completing the Legal Education Certificate at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. She has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, and a Master of Laws from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, in Corporate and Commercial Law.

Since 2007, she stated, she “has gained valuable legal experience, including litigation”, while working in the Solicitor General’s Chambers. In 2017 and 2018, Ms. Rawlins briefly served as an acting Magistrate in the District A (Criminal Court) and District C Magistrate’s Court.

Before entering the legal profession, Ms. Rawlins was a graduate teacher at two secondary schools, having joined the Barbados Public Service in September 1984. (PR/GIS)

Government

Chad Blackman Sworn In At State House

Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman, was today sworn in as a Member of the Cabinet and Member of Parliament by The President of Barbados, Her Excellency The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, at State House.

After the brief swearing-in ceremony, Dame Sandra congratulated Mr. Blackman, who is the new Member of Parliament for St. James North.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley; Deputy Prime Minister, Santia Bradshaw; Attorney General Dale Marshall; Senior Ministers Kerrie Symmonds and Dr. William Duguid; other ministers; and Mr. Blackman’s parents Delvin and Jacqueline Blackman, among others.

Ms. Mottley congratulated the new Minister and lauded some of his attributes. She thanked Mr. Blackman “for his extraordinary humility, commitment to people, discipline and willingness to engage persons at all levels….

“I ask only that you remain humble, … [and] committed to serving the people of Barbados”, she urged.

Additionally, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Minister’s parents, saying that over the years, he had set a fine example in being committed to serving at all levels.

Ms. Mottley said a vacancy now existed in the Senate Chambers and a new Senator would be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, Mr. Blackman thanked the Prime Minister for again reposing confidence in him and allowing him to serve in the Cabinet.

He continued: “I commit to working to ensure that the country’s educational transformational journey is one that, of course, is exciting, but equally rooted in understanding where we have to go, bearing in mind the nuances that we have as a country to take into consideration, as the global community that we operate under constantly changes.

“And, therefore, we have to change and adapt to it, equally putting Bajan values and ideas to the fore because the world must benefit from the intellectual capacity that we have in Barbados.”

Mr. Blackman said he was again looking forward to serving at the ministerial level and promised to continue working on behalf of the people of Barbados. (PR/GIS)

CAPTION: Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman, is congratulated by parents Delvin and Jacqueline Blackman, at State House

Government

CHAD BLACKMAN TO BE SWORN IN TODAY

Chad Blackman is set to be sworn in on Thursday as the new Member of Parliament for St James North, following a resounding win in Wednesday’s by-election. Representing the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Blackman captured 84 per cent of the vote.

He secured 2,723 of the 3,231 ballots cast, leaving his nearest challenger, Felicia Dujon of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), far behind with 468 votes. Steffanie Williams of the Community Empowerment Party received 21 votes, while Alex Mitchell of the Bajan Free Party garnered seven. A total of 12 ballots were rejected.

With just over 8,500 registered voters in the constituency, the turnout stood at approximately 38 per cent.

When asked about how he felt after securing victory, Blackman said he was humbled, adding, “I see this, yes, as a victory, but now the real hard work begins. I made a lot of commitments to the people of St James North and, of course, the people of Barbados, and it’s really now to get on to the business of work.”