HAITI: Barbados government defends its role in recovery efforts

The Barbados government on Thursday vehemently defended its role in the regional recovery efforts in Haiti following the catastrophic earthquake last month.

Earlier this week, Jamaica’s National Security Minister Dwight Nelson fingered Barbados among regional states that had not lived up to their end of the bargain in terms of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) response in the French-speaking country struggling to cope in the aftermath of the devastating quake that killed more than 200,000 people.

And in a subsequent press statement this week, the Jamaica Information Minister, Daryl Vaz, also warned that a pull out could be imminent unless promised regional assistance is forthcoming.

But speaking to journalists after a briefing with regional officials on the situation in Haiti, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxine McClean said it was unfair to suggest that Barbados is not playing its part.

“In respect to military assistance, Barbados has been funding and in fact, even recently had to get a supplementary for the RSS. It is a regional entity but Barbados has been financing the RSS.

“The RSS has been involved, among other things, in transportation…a significant part of those costs will be covered by Barbados,” she said when questioned by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) about the situation