Ayanna Webster-Roy ‘tells it like it is’

I initially met with the Member of Parliament for Tobago East in Roxborough, at the residence of her parents, then briefly for a second time at her office in Scarborough soon after the announcement of her increased portfolio. In Roxborough, her obvious pleasure in being at home bubbled over in the interview: spurts of laughter as she remembered anecdotes from her childhood. At one point while recounting the details of an incident, I realized her eyes were glistening, and then came the words with a smile: “I won’t cry….but I don’t have a problem crying as a politician.” I didn’t either.

According to Mrs Roy: “I had a plan – I always said I wanted to have my degree, get married and start a family by age twenty-five. I graduated from UWI St Augustine campus in 2002 when I was 22 years old, got married the same year and by twenty five had my first daughter.” The thirty five year old mother of two girls and one boy married her teenage sweetheart Kevin Roy, who had lived one village away from her in Betsy’s Hope.

“I think it was meant to be, there are also quite a few parallels with my parents union – Kevin and I are both Methodists, he is five years older than I am, my dad is five years older than mom, my mom and Kevin are from the same village and our grandmothers were best friends. Kevin and I became really good friends, he knew I wasn’t on the ‘sex thing’ – I told him so. My father taught his daughters about their bodies, how to respect yourself. I didn’t intend to let anybody make me a fool. We became friends and our relationship led to marriage, I married my friend.” Ayanna and I conversed in a bedroom of her parents’ home, one of the more sizeable ones on the small narrow street. Each neighbour’s house was literally a stone’s throw away. The sound of children was everywhere – her kids had met up with their cousins, the children of her sister and brother. It was nothing compared to what she remembered of her childhood days though.

“I have such fun memories – my parents both came from large families, 12 children on each side so it was normal to have lots of family members around. My father, Ken Webster was a teacher at Roxborough Anglican School, then Speyside Anglican where he became Principal and my mom Barbara, a housewife. I always looked forward to coming home – my mom can cook! I have this memory etched in my mind of her cooking while my grandfather washed up the dishes, we were all so close.” Just at that moment, we heard a knock on the door – it was her uncle who was staying for the weekend from Trinidad. I assumed he came to tell her something but then after chatting a bit, he pulled out a newspaper clipping of her from his pocket and proceeded to get into a political discussion, interjecting his pride in her accomplishments and how he didn’t like how ‘they forget to appoint she in Parliament.’ “I does follow everything you know, ah following you all the time!” I realized it became awkward for Ayanna so I told uncle in a few minutes, he could have her all to himself. Before uncle came, Ayanna had spoken of her dad –the livewire of the neighbourhood who would do anything for his kids and other people’s kids. She remembered some of his students who came to school without a meal, being sent home to her mother for her to feed them: “I love my Dad, he believed in us and pushed us.

He is also very likeable, the life of the party - likes to tease and give jokes but is a no nonsense educator. When I passed for Bishops High School, he sent me to Mt Pleasant to live with an aunt because it was closer. She treated me very well, but I was not emotionally prepared because I loved my home, Roxborough had everything and the adventures with my friends were great times. But he always wanted the best for us - I remember one time I came last in test, he was so shocked and hurt that he took my report book around to all the neighbours, some of them even cried when he spoke….and I decided that would never happen again.

Political Aspirations The Roxborough Ayanna spoke of was a far cry from what is seen today. According to her, Roxborough was a thriving commercial centre during her childhood – people from all over (neighbouring villages) came there to shop.

There was a market, shops, courthouse, maternity block staffed by midwives and of course schools: “I felt I lived in a city…until I moved out to attend Bishops.” One of her goals as MP for Tobago East is to see Roxborough once again become the second town of Tobago after Scarborough: “I intend to engage all stakeholders to bring Roxborough back so we can all say we did it.” After completing her A’ Levels, Ayanna applied to UWI Cavehill campus to do an undergraduate degree in Sociology with minors in Human Resources and Psychology. She felt this would enable her to help her community and her parents took a loan to allow her to realise her dreams. After marriage, she migrated to England to support her husband who chose to pursue a degree in Architecture in the UK. When they returned to Tobago, she was eventually appointed Coordinator of the Division of Community Development and Culture in the Tobago House of Assembly. This position helped prepare her for a life in politics. The position required her to deal with the development and implementation of projects and policies, as well as to work alongside NGOs and other stakeholders. She became familiar with many members of the public through this post.

“My father was my push into politics though, he always told me he felt I had the capabilities to get into politics and that I should try it one day. Well I did, and though the journey was very challenging – I am not lying, at every step, there was an obstacle, but then things would come through. I have my mother’s personality, she is so strong, she doesn’t quit – she will persevere to the end, always sacrificing herself for others and is just so resourceful.

My bittersweet moments in life have made me a stronger person. I pray ALL the time and my support team is strong, many dear friends and my family. My high school history teacher was Father (now Bishop) Claude Berkley and he used to tell us – ‘Don’t wait until you reach the shore to drown, keep swimming, keep persevering, Pray!’ and that’s what I do.” Minister Ayanna Webster-Roy As Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mrs Roy’s portfolio includes: Central Administrative Services of Tobago: Meteorological Services, Prices/ Weights and Measures Inspectorate, Registrar General and Coordination of Tobago Matters for areas outside of the Fifth Schedule. In addition: Children’s Authority, Child development, Children’s Homes, Children with special needs, Community residences, Orphanages, and Gender Affairs.

This is by no means an enviable portfolio – I sought to find out what her plan of action vision entailed: Horrific acts of abuse against women and children have been in the national spotlight for the last couple months but of course, are ongoing issues in need of urgent redress.

Citizens are disenchanted about some of our institutions (or even the lack thereof) that are in place to deal with gender affairs and children’s issues. What reviews of our laws and systems can we look forward to? “Resources are available through the state and the voluntary sector. With regard to children, we have the Children’s Authority - for women we have a number of resource centres. Personally, I believe we should not hold the state solely responsible for acts of violence against women and children. People have to start taking personal responsibility for their actions or inactions. We could build more schools, rehabilitation centres, police stations and prisons, however, if we don’t make a collective decision as citizens to do better and be better, nothing will change.

It’s easy for us to blame government but we are all equally responsible for the state of our nation. Those who witness abuse or suspect abuse, those who witness petty crimes or violent crimes and refuse to report, are just as guilty as the perpetrator.” Being the only Minister with an assigned office in Tobago for Tobago matters alongside other national commitments, I then asked what she perceives are the challenges of balancing these portfolios with a family whose members reside in Tobago.

“It will call for effective and efficient scheduling and establishing policy in a timely manner. Once policy is established, there are Public Servants and Technocrats to operationalize policy and once clear guidelines for reporting and monitoring are instituted it should make the workload manageable.

In terms of my commitments to my constituents I will as far as humanly possible maintain my constituency day.

On alternate Thursdays I will extend the day and meet constituents in their spaces, similar to the walkabouts I did during my campaign. I am also relying on my constituency office staff to be an extension of me. They have to be able to provide quality service that reflects the commitments and guarantees I gave when I was soliciting votes. I also use my MP Facebook page to connect constituents and disseminate information.

“I have come to truly appreciate the meaning of everything in God’s timing. I am fortunate that I am at a place in my development process where I am comfortable with who I am and spiritually grounded to be able to balance my various roles. My husband and I have matured over the years, after 13 years of marriage we ‘get each other’. I could not have survived the campaign were it not for the unwavering support of him, my kids, relatives and church.

Their continued support gives me great comfort. Once social engagements would permit I include my children, I think it will add to their holistic development. Thus far the children are taking it in stride, it’s like an adventure, I have seen them become more bold and assertive.” Minister Roy is also very aware of the questions coming at her office concerning projects that were started in Tobago under the previous administration. She reiterated her commitment to ensuring the continued empowerment and development of all Tobagonians, but added that the importance of operating within parameters that respect and recognize the autonomy and role of the Tobago House of Assembly must be recognised. A number of projects, programmes and services started under the previous regime in many instances was a duplication of work carried out by various Divisions of the THA and other training institutions operating on the island such as YTEPP and the Retraining Programme. She therefore wants to reassure the public that CAST and the THA are working in collaboration to ensure that ongoing training programmes are absorbed by the THA with minimal impact on trainees.

Any parting words to your constituents and the general public? “I really think we need to build civic pride….condition people’s thinking starting from early childcare. We need to look at ourselves and see what is one small change I can make to improve life for others and myself. When we had our _ rst retreat with Dr. Rowley, one of the first things he said to us was: ‘Who came into this to be a Minister can leave. When you sign up to be a Member of Parliament, your first job is to serve the people.’ I felt a connection to him through those words. I tell people as it is, you come to me about employment, I ask how many subjects do you have? I try to show them that you have to attempt to help yourself first before asking others for help. I just try to keep it real because I don’t believe in giving persons ‘false hopes’. I want to work closely with all stakeholders (business community, Civil Society organizations, ordinary citizens) to bring meaningful development to Tobago and by extension, the national community. Once you truly care about making a difference, I am willing to work with you.”