标签： Barbados

As Barbados’ iconic Crop Over festival enters its peak summer season, the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) has issued an urgent warning over widespread failures to prevent underage access to alcohol at public festival events. Reports of minors purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages without mandatory age or identity checks have prompted the public health agency to highlight the serious risks weak regulatory enforcement poses to young people across the island.

NCSA counselor Mosiah Hoyte shared details of the agency’s on-the-ground observations with local outlet Barbados TODAY, confirming that the issue was detected during the festival’s busiest period, when young attendees gather at events where alcohol is sold and promoted extensively. “There is definitely a major concern about underage alcohol use throughout Crop Over,” Hoyte stated. “Right now, we are not seeing consistent, enforced policies requiring ID checks at festival venues, and as a result, we are directly observing underage drinking taking place across multiple events.”

Hoyte pointed to a potential conflict between event operators’ commercial priorities and their legal and ethical responsibility to block alcohol access to minors. “Many vendors and organizers are focused on maximizing sales, and any transaction is seen as a good outcome for their bottom line,” he explained. “But this profit-driven approach comes at a huge cost to our young people. When underage drinking is normalized and easily accessible, it opens the door to a wide range of harmful, risky behaviors that can have long-term impacts.”

The overlap between the Crop Over season and school summer vacations exacerbates the problem, Hoyte added, noting that minors often face reduced adult supervision during the break, giving them more freedom to obtain and consume alcohol. “In our culture, alcohol is tied to almost every social gathering and celebration, and Crop Over is no exception,” he said. “That normalization makes it even more important that all stakeholders step up to protect vulnerable groups, and young people and teenagers are exactly that – a vulnerable population that needs targeted protection.”

Hoyte emphasized that event organizers have both a legal and moral obligation to enforce age limits: Barbados law explicitly prohibits selling alcohol to anyone under the age of 18. “Organizers need to go the extra mile to implement strict ID checks, not just to comply with the law and protect themselves from legal consequences, but to keep young people safe,” he said. The NCSA counselor also stressed that parental responsibility plays a critical role in addressing the issue, calling on caregivers to increase oversight of children and teenagers during the summer vacation period. “Parents need to take greater responsibility for knowing where their children are, what activities they are participating in, and what substances they have access to, especially during this unstructured break from school,” he added.

The underage alcohol access uncovered during this year’s Crop Over is part of a longstanding, growing public health challenge for Barbados, recent NCSA data confirms. October 2025 research from the agency shows that alcohol experimentation among students increases nearly fivefold between primary school and secondary school, with adolescents now classified as an increasingly high-risk group for substance use. Earlier NCSA studies have also found that some children as young as 12 report having consumed alcohol, and public health officials have repeatedly named alcohol as the most commonly used substance among young Barbadians.

For Hoyte, the problem extends far beyond the annual Crop Over festival, framing it as a systemic issue requiring coordinated action across all sectors of society to protect young people from early substance exposure and its long-term harms. “This is not just a festival problem – it is a broader public health issue that demands consistent, collective responsibility from everyone, from event organizers to policymakers to families,” he said.

Attempts to reach Rudy Maloney, president of the Entertainment Association of Barbados – the trade body that represents festival producers and entertainment promoters across the island – for comment on the NCSA’s allegations were unsuccessful as of press time.

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced Friday that a proposal to rename Bay Primary School in honor of the country’s beloved national hero, cricket icon Sir Garfield Sobers, has already drawn strong early public support, with more than 300 signatures collected to back the initiative. The plan will next be forwarded to the National Honours Advisory Council for formal review.

Sir Garfield, who passed away recently, has deep roots tied to the school and the surrounding Bayland community. He attended the institution’s predecessor, Bay Street Boys’ School, one of the oldest public primary schools on the Caribbean island. The legendary cricketer also honed his skills and earned his first athletic recognition on Bay Pasture, which today serves as the playing field for Bay Primary School after the campus relocated to its current Bayville site in 1958.

Speaking during a formal tribute session in the House of Assembly, where lawmakers unanimously adopted a resolution honoring Sir Garfield, Prime Minister Mottley said she expected widespread backing for the renaming plan across the country. Renaming the school after the local-born global icon, she argued, would create a permanent, generations-long source of inspiration for young students from the community. It would stand as a constant reminder that children born and raised in working-class local communities can achieve extraordinary, world-class success, just as Sir Garfield did.

“There could be no more long-lasting and fitting tribute,” Mottley told the assembled lawmakers.

Beyond the school renaming, the Barbadian government is launching a second project to embed Sir Garfield’s core values in future generations: a pocket-sized collection of life lessons titled *365 Not Out*. Mottley explained that the book will feature one daily insight drawn directly from Sir Garfield’s life experiences and personal character, with a goal of distributing copies to every schoolchild across Barbados by the start of 2026. The prime minister envisions the book becoming a core touchstone in the national education system, ensuring that Sir Garfield’s wisdom outlives him and continues to guide young Barbadians long into the future.

Mottley emphasized that Sir Garfield’s greatest contribution to Barbados extended far beyond the countless athletic records he set during his legendary cricket career. His most enduring legacy, she said, is the belief he instilled in ordinary Barbadians that greatness is within reach for anyone, regardless of their background. “Government can build pavilions, fund programmes, and prepare pitches. But we can’t legislate belief,” she noted. “What Sir Garry did for this country was to make aspiration visible.”

Reflecting on the widespread outpouring of public grief following Sir Garfield’s death, Mottley highlighted the remarkable fact that even 52 years after his final Test match appearance in 1974, the cricket legend remained one of the most respected and beloved figures in the country. Mottley credited his enduring standing to his personal character, rather than his athletic achievements alone: he was known for his quiet humility, often offering gentle encouragement to young emerging cricketers without seeking public recognition for his mentorship.

The prime minister also used the tribute as an opportunity to challenge Barbadians to reevaluate how the nation recognizes greatness, noting that there was public debate in 1998 when the living sportsman was first named a National Hero, with some questioning whether a non-political figure deserved the honor. “We must not believe that the only people capable of greatness are political persons,” she said. “He was never just a cricketer. He was always the greatest of all time. And he was always a Barbadian man exhibiting some of the best values that this country could have.”

Mottley also addressed past unfair criticism of Sir Garfield’s plain-spoken communication style, recalling his response to detractors who judged him for his informal use of English: “I never set out to be the best English speaker in the world.” She used the anecdote to push for greater inclusivity across Barbadian society, noting that too many people are marginalized for not conforming to narrow expectations of speech, appearance, or background. “This country must forever be that place that accommodates people,” she said.

Mottley made clear that both the school renaming and the book project are designed not just to honor Sir Garfield’s legacy, but to create a foundation that encourages the next generation of Barbadian talent to emulate his combination of excellence and humility. “The actions which we take as a government must not be to simply reflect on him and his record, but must always be a platform to see where the next Garry Sobers is going to come from, where the next Robyn Rihanna Fenty is going to come from,” she said.

Following the prime minister’s address, the House of Assembly unanimously approved the resolution honoring Sir Garfield, naming him “an exemplar of excellence, dignity, humility and grace” and extending its deepest condolences to his family.

Barbados is one step closer to expanding affordable home ownership for its low- and middle-income residents, after the City of Bridgetown (COB) Co-operative Credit Union broke ground this Friday on the Deanstown Heights Housing Development in St James. The project will deliver 34 moderately priced homes, with more than a dozen prospective buyers already confirming their interest before construction even begins, marking a new expansion of the credit union’s role in the country’s housing market.

Traditionally, COB Credit Union has offered home financing to its members, but this development represents a strategic shift: through its subsidiary COB Financial Services Incorporated (COBFSIA), the organization is now directly developing a full residential community tailored to the needs of ordinary Barbadians. Kemar Cumberbatch, president of COB Credit Union and chair of COBFSIA, called the groundbreaking a defining milestone for the institution during the ceremony, where he turned the first sod for the project.

“Together we give ordinary people extraordinary economic power, and today that collective boardroom vision becomes a visible reality,” Cumberbatch told attendees. The development is designed with flexibility to fit diverse household needs and budgets: it offers six distinct home models, ranging from 873 to 1,492 square feet of interior space, sited on individual lots between 5,443 and 10,079 square feet. Pricing for the completed homes falls between BDS $362,500 and BDS $571,000, a range structured to align with the financial capabilities of target buyers.

Cumberbatch emphasized that the true impact of the project will extend far beyond construction statistics. For young professionals securing their first property, working-class families growing their children in a safe, permanent space, and parents building intergenerational wealth, Deanstown Heights turns the long-held Barbadian dream of “a piece of the rock” into a tangible reality. He acknowledged that rising costs for land, construction, insurance and financing have made home ownership increasingly out of reach for many in recent years, prompting COB to redesign the home buying journey to remove common barriers. By integrating land access, home construction, mortgage financing and property insurance under a single connected institutional framework, the credit union eliminates the administrative and financial hurdles that often derail aspiring homeowners.

“This project demonstrates the evolving powerful role that our credit unions must play in the modern Barbadian economy,” Cumberbatch said, thanking the state-run National Housing Corporation (NHC) for its partnership and expressing openness to future collaborative developments. Rhonnelle Smith, senior operations officer at COBFSIA, outlined the accessible financing terms that set the project apart: developers are offering up to 95 percent financing for buyers, with insurance options provided through partner Cooperators General. As of the groundbreaking, more than 12 potential buyers have already submitted inquiries, with several nearing the final stage of securing commitment letters for their properties.

Located near established St James communities including Apes Hill, Polo Ground, St Silas Heights, Waterhall Terrace and Waterhall Tenantry, Deanstown Heights benefits from pre-existing local infrastructure including roads, water access and electrical service, reducing development costs and allowing more competitive pricing for buyers. All homes will be constructed using the Forster construction system, a Swiss-engineered sustainable building method that uses 100 percent steel framing for durable, eco-friendly residential architecture.

Barbados Minister of Housing Chris Gibbs praised the project during the ceremony, noting that it aligns directly with the Mia Mottley administration’s national target of delivering 2,000 new homes per year to address unmet housing demand. While the 34-unit development is a smaller addition to the annual target, Gibbs highlighted its strategic value as an infill project within an existing developed area, leveraging existing infrastructure to keep costs low for both developers and home buyers. He also noted the natural synergy between the COB project and the NHC’s existing waiting list for affordable housing: many applicants on the NHC’s list are also COB credit union members, allowing the partnership to deliver housing to people already actively seeking properties, rather than building unneeded supply.

Gibbs emphasized that the public-private partnership model used for Deanstown Heights is the future of Barbados housing development, noting that government alone cannot meet the country’s growing demand for affordable home ownership. “This is the type of partnership that we have to explore because, as I said, government can’t do it all,” he said.