PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, CANDIDATE FOR ST. JAMES NORTH

Senator Harcourt Husbands is currently the Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. He brings to the Democratic Labour Party Team considerable knowledge, skills and experience, which no doubt will be useful at this critical turning point in the history of the nation.

Senator Husbands is a trained teacher with over 20 years experience. He holds a University of the West Indies (UWI) Teacher’s Certificate, a B.Sc. degree in Public Administration from the UWI and a Master’s degree in Labour and Industrial Relations from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA.

Senator Husbands has an impressive track record of high profile service to Barbados. Early in his career, he was the General Secretary and President of the Barbados Union of Teachers and President of the Caribbean Union of Teachers. He was a founding member of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados, and worked for the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in Trenton, New Jersey USA.

For several years he served as the Executive Director of the Barbados Employers Confederation. In this capacity he was the chief advocate for Barbadian employers in all industrial relations and human resource development matters. For ten years he was the chief spokesman for local employers at the International Labour Conference in Geneva. He also served on the Board of the Caribbean Employers Confederation.

Senator Husbands has served on several local Boards and Committees including the National Insurance Scheme, the Barbados Accreditation Council and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, where he was Chairman of the Board. Presently he is the Government’s main spokesman on the Board of the National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE).

Until recently he was a weekly columnist in the Barbados Business Authority, and moderator on the popular radio call-in programme “Down to Brass Tacks”.

Harcourt Husbands has been living in St. James for over 25 years. However, despite his intimate knowledge of the parish, he was startled to discover the extent of neglect in what has been dubbed the Platinum Coast of Barbados. Several neighbourhoods still exist with inadequate housing, poor access and an absence of recreational facilities. This blatant neglect of the people was the clearest possible manifestation of the warped policies of the Barbados Labour Party Administration during their 14 years in office.

Using a people-centred approach to further ascertain the challenges facing residents, he has visited almost every church, shop, bar and many homes and street corners to meet with residents, and to discuss their concerns. Housing, road infrastructure, unemployment, and a lack of recreational facilities for the young were among the most pressing issues. Guided by a vision to develop a more prosperous and just community he has begun to tackle these problems by:

Finding jobs in various sectors for the unemployed;
Assisting some residents with writing resumes and directing them towards training opportunities;
Working with the Rural Development Commission to construct several new houses, refurbish public facilities, and up-grade sporting facilities;
Restoring the Weston Hardcourt.
Restarting the Road tennis programme at Weston after more than 20 years.
Securing sponsorship for the talented Roadview Football Team;
Mobilizing human and material resources to restore the Sion Hill Community Centre as a decent venue for cricket, dominoes and other recreational activities;
Establishing a bus service to the Whim;
Establishing a line-dancing club in Weston;
Arranging tuition, and donating books and graduation gifts for students throughout the constituency;
Providing food hampers and other forms of assistance to the elderly and the disabled;
Facilitating major road repairs at Lower Carlton, Taylors Gap, Fox Club Road and Crick Hill.

This is only the beginning of his commitment to serve his constituency. Senator Husbands is intent on extending and intensifying these services to the residents of St. James North, when he officially becomes their Parliamentary Representative.

Contact the Candidate
Constituency Office (246) 422-3905
Email harrydlpstjamesnorth@gmail.com