THE OFFICIAL public viewing of the body of David Thompson, youngest Head of Government of the Caribbean region to die in office, got underway yesterday in Bridgetown at what is the third oldest parliament building in the Commonwealth of independent states.
At 48, Thompson was the eleventh Caribbean Head of Government to die in office, the first being Jamaica’s Donald Sangster in 1967.Since then, other government leaders to depart for the ‘great beyond’ were:
St.Kitts and Nevis’ Robert Bradshaw (the oldest at 81) and Paul Southwell; Trinidad and Tobago’s Eric Williams; Dominica’s Rosie Douglas and Pierre Charles (49); Guyana’s Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan, Saint Lucia’s John Compton, and the two former Barbadian leaders to pass away within two years of each other–Tom Adams and Errol Barrow.
The tradition of regional outpouring of condolences—from state level to representative business and civic organisations–with the passing of Heads of Government in office is being admirably maintained while arrangements are being finalised for next Wednesday’s state funeral at the historic Kensington Oval.
A number of CARICOM leaders as well as dignitaries from within the Greater Caribbean and beyond are expected for the state funeral, under the guidance of Foreign Minister Maxine McLean.
On Monday, the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana will open a ‘Book of Condolence’ to facilitate expressions from the public in general, in addition to representatives of the diplomatic corps and business community
The book will close on November 3 to coincide with the official period of mourning that started with Thompson’s death from pancreatic cancer on October 23.
As to be expected, with the official period of national mourning over, multi-party governance politics will return with all its diverse trademarks.
The administration of new Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (Thompson’s deputy from the time of the Democratic Labour Party’s landslide electoral victory in January 2008), will be more intensely focused on preparation of the overdue national budget to be presented by new Finance and Economic Minister Chris Sinckler. On the other party side, critical and supportive eyes will be following former three-term Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, in his new role as parliamentary Opposition Leader.
If Prime Minister Stuart has his political plate full of ponderables that include whether or not to reshuffle the cabinet inherited from Thompson, or when (not if) to call a snap poll, then Arthur, who recently replaced, by majority vote, Mia Mottley as Opposition Leader, has this weekend annual conference of his Barbados Labour Party to set some clear political guidelines on the way forward. The BLP’s three-day conference gets underway today.