Barbados PM shuffles cabinet, still holding on despite debilitating illness

Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados has made some changes to his cabinet as he makes adjustments to his workload to deal with the debilitating pancreatic cancer that has reduced his activity level and caused him to lose a significant amount of weight,

In a nationwide broadcast Thursday night, Thompson dropped some of the portfolios he has held since his Democratic Labour Party (DLP) came to office in 2008. The changes take effect on October 4,

Thompson acknowledged that his “reduced physical capacity” has placed a strain on his ability to serve Barbadians as he would have liked.

He explained that while he had no control of his medical situation, "We can control how we respond to what happens to us”. 

He assured the nation that “my family and I are determined to battle this illness and are fully co-operating with the medical teams here and in New York, to ensure that all that’s humanly possible is done to arrest and reverse this condition, while humbly recognizing that ultimately the Will of God will prevail”.

Thompson will remain Prime Minister and the National Security portfolio. Attorney General Freundel Stuart will be the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs. Christopher Sinckler, who is one of the favoured successor to Thompson, will take over the Finance and Economic Affairs portfolio from Thompson.

Thompson said full global economic recovery is still "a fair distance away” and warned that “we in Barbados and the wider Caribbean should not bamboozle ourselves with the notion that recovery is dependent on factors of our exclusive design and making,” he said.

He said his administration has put in place several strategies geared towards cushioning the “shock and to minimize the impact of the economic decline”.

At the same time he warned that the “weeks and months ahead will be equally challenging and it is for that reason that I have assessed the future, in the context of my illness and reduced capacity, and have determined that it is necessary and prudent that I divest aspects of my ministerial portfolio that require robust, day to day oversight”.

The Prime Minister urged all Barbadians "to refocus our energies on what’s best for Barbados and that we wrap our actions and our utterances in the national flag and the furtherance of this great nation we call home".

He added, “That’s my challenge to you. Unite and love...if we can unite first and foremost as sons and daughters of these fields and hills we call our very own, nothing will hold us back. We did it in the 60s and 70s, and we make no wanton boast of what we can achieve”.

The Prime Minister explained that he chose to make a radio broadcast instead of appearing on television because the “nature of my medical treatment has occasioned obvious weight loss...I would rather that you get the portent of my message rather than the picture; and be concerned about the message, not the medium,” he added.