By BGIS
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has described the launch of the Social Empowerment Agency (SEA) and the opening of its first Client Centre at Six Roads, St Philip, as one of the proudest moments of her tenure, signalling a decisive shift toward a modern, people-centered approach to social services in Barbados.
“They say that all roads lead to Six Roads. That is true. Well, we are at Six Roads,” the prime minister said, as she opened her feature address, underscoring the symbolism of locating the first centre in St Philip.
The Social Empowerment Agency brings together the Child Care Board, National Assistance Board, Welfare Department, National Disabilities Unit, and the Resilience and Reintegration Unit into a single entity designed to deliver integrated, accessible, and responsive services.
Reflecting on her entry into public life, Mottley said the establishment of the SEA embodies her core motivation for service.
“We are determined that people must be seen, must be felt and must be heard.” Mottley explained that upon assuming office in 2018, her first estimates exercise revealed deep structural inefficiencies across social service agencies, despite Barbados having more than 300 social workers collectively. That assessment, she said, laid the foundation for a “first responder” approach in which every social worker is empowered to act decisively on behalf of citizens in need.
The prime minister criticised what she described as a lingering “Victorian approach” to welfare, justice, and social protection.
“How did a country that is functioning in the third decade of the 21st Century end up with a situation where we resemble a time governed by a queen that has been dead for over 100 years?” she asked.
Mottley emphasised that the launch of the SEA represents more than the opening of a building. “Today, we’re not simply opening a building or Client Centre. We are changing how we seek to relate to one another,” she stressed, noting that the agency’s mission is to help citizens move “from a point of dependence to a point of independence, [and] the next step is interdependence.”
Prime Minister Mottley highlighted the long-standing philosophy of bringing services to the people, contrasting it with centralised service delivery models. She said this principle guided the development of the SEA and the decision to establish community-based centres; and also stressed that the process of creating the agency required extensive consultation and change management. “If we sought to direct that there shall be a Social Empowerment Agency without the level of consultation, without the level of building that has taken place here, we would have failed,” she said, thanking ministers, permanent secretaries, boards, and technical teams for steering the complex amalgamation.
Calling on SEA staff to recognise their historic role, the prime minister told them: “You all will determine whether the people of this country feel that history has been made and that you are writing your name on history’s page.”
Mottley framed the agency as central to Barbados’ identity as a republic, noting that republicanism must be reflected in attitudes, institutions, and community life. “Being a republic isn’t only about getting there on November 30…. It’s about bringing a different attitude and approach to the kind of Barbados and the kind of communities and families that we want to build.”
Acknowledging that economic progress alone does not eliminate social vulnerability, prime minister Mottley said the SEA has a critical role in strengthening social capital, reducing dependency, and ensuring dignity in service delivery. “Nobody likes to have to go and ask for a need or a want when they can go and earn,” she said.
Mottley also highlighted new policy advances for persons with disabilities and the elderly, thanking key contributors to reforms, including the establishment of appropriate National Insurance Scheme support and the advancement of elder-care legislation.
Addressing residents of St Philip directly, the prime minister said: “We see you, we feel you, and we hear you, and we have come to bring integrated services to you.
Mottley concluded by describing the SEA as a partnership between frontline workers, government, and the wider public.
“The biggest gift doesn’t come in the money…, it comes in the smiles that you have when people come in to you, to let them know that this is a safe place.”
Declaring the launch as evidence of perseverance and reform, prime minister Mottley said: “Today is the evidence of that success…. God bless the parish of St Philip for leading us in this transformational effort that has truly taken us from Victorian times to a modern republic….”
