Local

National Honours Committee To Be Involved In Renaming Facilities

The National Honours Committee will be tasked with the responsibility of renaming public buildings and facilities thereby removing that function from those “in the corridors of political power”.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley made the announcement recently while delivering the feature address at a dedication ceremony for The Leroy Trotman Customs House, University Row, Bridgetown.

The facility was named after Sir Roy Trotman, a stalwart in the trade union movement, who was employed with the Barbados Workers’ Union’ (BWU) from July 15, 1971. He was the BWU’s General Secretary from August 29, 1992, until August 30, 2014.

The Prime Minister told the gathering that Cabinet had decided that the naming of facilities and institutions should not be an arbitrary exercise or in “the province of those who happen to occupy the corridors of political power”.

Ms. Mottley stated: “We therefore ask the National Honours Committee that exists and may act only on the eve of Honours conferred at Independence or with ‘We Gatherin’ Pride of Barbados next year…that it also takes responsibility for consideration and recommendation to Cabinet for the naming of facilities and grounds.”

The Prime Minister stressed that over the last six to eight weeks “two sets of letters” from communities recommending persons had been received, and she believed that the process should be encouraged but in a more structured arrangement.

“We believe this is something that ought to be encouraged rather than just left as an ad-hoc arrangement. It allows the country to own and consume pride and to reward appropriately people outside of the immediate vision of the newspapers . . . and to give appreciation and due honour where it is deserved.

“This is important because that little girl or that little boy watching you and listening to you, Sir Roy…must come to understand your name adorns this building, not simply because we love you but because you put in the effort, stood for something and that made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Barbadians and tens of millions of workers across the globe,” Ms. Mottley underlined.

During the ceremony, Sir Roy accompanied by his daughters Dr. Paula Trotman-Hastings, Lesley Trotman-Edwards and grand daughters Amber and Michaela Hastings, thanked his immediate family, his trade union family and well wishers.

“I want to thank all those dear souls from either side who have dared to stand with us in difficult times and have now joined with us in these blessed times,” he said. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. William Duguid, Minister of of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill and Sir Roy Trotman, savouring the moment before cutting the ribbon to officially declare the building open

Local

SPECIAL POLLING DAY NOTICE

Local

FundAccess To Host Legal Clinic Workshop from May 13th

Entrepreneurs will soon get another opportunity to learn about critical legal matters that are key to the operation of their businesses.

FundAccess will be hosting The Legal Clinic Workshop, which will commence on Tuesday, May 13, and continue each Tuesday, until May 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The workshop will be facilitated by Attorney-at-law Ondene Kirton and participants will discuss Understanding Business Legal Structures; Contracts & Agreements; Employment Law & Compliance; and Examination of the Various Laws Relating to Small Business.

During those sessions, the participants will be exposed to sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporations – pro and cons; how to choose the right legal structure for a business; the importance of contracts in business operations; avoiding common contract pitfalls; and employee rights & employer responsibilities, among others. Some of the pieces of legislation to be examined include the Employment Rights Act and National Insurance and Social Security Act.

Interested persons may attend the workshop in person at FundAccess’ Pinfold Street, Bridgetown location, or online via the Zoom Platform. To register, click on the following link: https://bit.ly/3Fu09Jv.

Local

Centenarian Built On Firm Foundation Set By Grandmother

“Trust God first” is the mantra of one of Barbados’ newest centenarians, Athelstan Browne, who celebrated his 100th birthday on April 29, 2025, at his home in Montrose, Christ Church, surrounded by family and friends.

One of his specially invited guests was President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason.

Mr. Browne shared that he grew up “not knowing a mummy” as his mother passed away at age 23, when he was two years old, and his brother was only one year old.

Crediting his grandmother for his upbringing, Mr. Brown remarked: “I had a real good, good grandmother that raised two of us, and everything we learn before we went to school, she taught us.”

Pointing to a humble yet deeply religious upbringing, Mr. Browne said: “I and my brother slept on the floor. Our grandmother spread things down there, and she just put the pillow under our head.”

He recalled that they had to sing the hymn “Under the Blood” before going to bed, and first thing in the morning before they had breakfast, which usually consisted of “a cup of tea and two biscuits”. Adding that the hymn was “our song”, Mr. Browne sang the hymn from memory.

Stressing that his grandmother was a great provider, he noted: “My grandmother had land, and she would work the land…. We would eat raw potato, raw okras, (green) peas, cucumbers…. The only thing we did not eat was raw yams and eddoes.”

Mr. Browne continues to enjoy his ground provisions “with a little rice”, as he likes his rice with green peas, and if available, chicken boiled with the rice. “I am a fish man,” he remarked, eating it either fried or with a “stew sauce”.

Continuing to nurture his Christian beliefs, he joined the Mount Ararat United Holy Church (currently in Dayrell’s Road, Christ Church) in 1967, at age 33, and has continued there ever since.

Once the Superintendent of the Sunday School at the church, Mr. Browne is still instrumental in providing leadership to the youth there. “I have a crowd of young people at church that love me…especially when I have to talk to them…. It is what they should hear and what they should have,” he said.

The centenarian was raised in Montrose, Christ Church, and attended the Christ Church Boys’ School (now Milton Lynch Primary School). After leaving school, Mr. Browne initially took to agriculture but then worked cutting soft stone in two quarries in Christ Church.

In 1947, at the age of 22, he decided to join the US Farm Labour Programme and took the first Pan American Airlines flight out of Barbados. Over 10 years later, Mr. Browne returned to Barbados and married Monica Browne (deceased). Together, they built the house where he currently resides.

Returning to his roots in agriculture, the centenarian worked at the Ridge Plantation, Christ Church, until retirement. He also planted and reaped ground produce at home, as well as planted and cut canes.

Mr. Browne, who is generally in good health and has a sharp memory, still works around the home and enjoys reading, which he does without glasses. He also keeps in touch with his family in New York and North Carolina, and will do some travelling, but he is always ready to return home.

After toasting the centenarian, Her Excellency remarked: “You are in the midst of a lot of love, and I am sure you are going to enjoy the rest of your birthday. I am really happy to have met you. I am grateful for the work that you still continue to do with our young people because a lot of them lack direction, and we, nowadays, don’t take enough time to sit down and speak with them…. We don’t remind them that they are important, that they are somebody.”

Mr. Browne responded: “You got to make them understand what … the Lord expects of them… We have to acknowledge the Lord.”

Mr. Browne has two children, 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. (PR/GIS)

Caption: President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, and Barbados’ newest centenarian Athelstan Browne take a walk outside during his birthday celebrations in Montrose, Christ Church