A Barbados-based parliamentarian is reigniting a years-long advocacy campaign for a centralized governing body to tackle deep-seated issues in one of the island’s largest geographic regions, warning that delayed action is driving population decline and holding back community development.
Ryan Brathwaite, the Member of Parliament for the St Joseph constituency, used a Sunday Barbados Labour Party constituency branch meeting held at Grantley Adams Memorial School to reinforce his demand for the creation of a Scotland District Authority. Stressing that the sprawling region, which covers roughly 20 percent of Barbados’ total land area, faces a set of unique challenges that cut across traditional ministerial boundaries, Brathwaite said fragmented governance has slowed progress on resolving critical issues.
“The Scotland District is a one-of-a-kind area with its own distinct set of challenges, and I will not stop advocating until this authority is established,” Brathwaite told attendees. He argued that a single umbrella authority would be able to coordinate action across all communities in the Scotland District – including those outside his own St Joseph constituency – and address local issues much faster than the current system of split responsibilities across multiple government ministries. “A centralized body would allow us to tackle these problems with the urgency and focused attention this part of the country demands,” he added.
During a recent onsite tour of St Joseph alongside Senior Minister and Minister of Transport and Works Kirk Humphrey, Brathwaite identified multiple high-priority problem areas, including Spa Hill, Fruitful Hill, and Parks Road. He noted that additional problem sites across the parish would be inspected in the coming weeks.
Brathwaite emphasized that St Joseph has been disproportionately impacted by the accelerating effects of climate change, worsening long-standing issues with the parish’s road network, public transport access, and core public services. These unaddressed challenges, he warned, have triggered a steady outflow of residents from the parish, a trend visible in the declining enrollment at local schools.
“People are simply leaving St Joseph because we have failed to deliver the basic services they need,” Brathwaite said. “We have to upgrade our road networks and expand access to critical services to give people a reason to stay. As your elected representative, it is my job to hold this government accountable to the promises it has made, so that the people of this community do not feel overlooked or forgotten.”
Beyond the push for the regional authority, Brathwaite also called for targeted expansion of residential development across St Joseph, with a specific focus on creating affordable housing options for young professionals who want to put down roots in the community. He referenced the long-delayed Ginger Works public housing project, noting that there is ample space across other parts of the parish for additional residential development.
“It is past time that young professionals in this constituency have the chance to secure a mortgage and build their lives right here in St Joseph,” he said. Brathwaite added that he had received correspondence from the Minister of Housing about rent-to-own housing schemes in other parts of the country, but local residents consistently tell him they want opportunities to stay in their home communities rather than relocate. “Our people do not want to move. We want to keep our families together in the familiar places we have always called home,” he stressed.
Speaking at the same meeting, Transport Minister Humphrey acknowledged that despite recent completed roadwork projects across St Joseph, significant work remains to be done. He confirmed that design planning for major road upgrades at Spa Hill has been finalized, with construction on that project and improvements at Braggs Hill set to get underway in mid-October.
Humphrey also floated a potential shift in how the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) delivers road repairs, saying the government is considering having ministry crews carry out more repair work in-house rather than relying exclusively on private contractors. He noted that multiple private contractors are currently active on island-wide road projects, but the government could bring more work in-house in the near future – a change that would require additional resources, particularly a younger workforce.
The minister pushed back against public criticism of MTW employees, saying ministry staff are “far more diligent and competent than the general public gives them credit for.” He added that workers at MTW depots across the island have repeatedly expressed a desire to prove their capabilities if they are provided with the necessary tools and funding to do the work.
That said, Humphrey was frank about the need to recruit younger workers to the ministry, noting that most current frontline workers are in their late 50s and early 60s. “To be honest, we need to start bringing younger people into MTW because many of our workers have been here for decades,” he said. “This is physically demanding work, done under the hot Barbados sun, and we need new talent to sustain these efforts.”
Touching on ongoing pothole repair work across the entire island, Humphrey said that motorists who experience flat tires or damaged rims as a result of unaddressed potholes are eligible for prompt reimbursement, and he urged any driver who has suffered damage to submit their official claim forms as soon as possible.