As the political temperature continues to rise in what has been called “an election year” here, Laverne King, New Democratic Party’s public relations officer, presented three F’s as evidence of her party’s commitment to provide “betterment in government.” King, while speaking at a rally in West St. George last Thursday night, presented her F’s as she solicited voter support.
“Your finances, the bread that you eat, the egg that you eat is determined by who you decide to put in office…” To illustrate her perspective King pointed to the impact of unemployment on an average household. “
It rough. It rough. It affects your finances,” she said while referring to the burden of having young adults at home who cannot contribute financially because “no work is being provided for them.” Job creation, King said, is an NDP mandate that would translate into “yo child can now come to you and you can now go to your parents and say ‘mammy look $20 to help pay the light bill.
That is the New Democratic Party helping your finances.” The much touted Citizen By Investment (CBI) program was again tabled as one national income earning source. Using an analogy of a rich foreign man wanting to invest here for a chance to travel to more countries in the world via a Vincentian passport, King explained that an NDP government would require investment in the local economy (from such a person) in exchange for a lump sum of money. That, King said, would be “money without having to pay back – it’s not a loan. Everybody love free money, right?” King further extolled the NDP’s readiness to “be able to provide jobs and get more finances in the treasury of our country so that we are able to do things like reduce VAT from 16% to 13%.” Taking the time to explain the implications of reduced VAT on people’s spending power, she noted “if $400 used to last yo foh 20 days it can now last yo foh 25 days. And if you used to go [supermarket] and yo money short it mean that you can buy more food now…
The NDP is concerned about your finances and improving it.” The young PRO further pointed to the NDP’s plan to underwrite 100% of the external examination fees for locally based scholars.
“The NDP is going to improve your finances by going to the young people who have subjects to write and say ‘how much is your subjects going to cost you? Yo want to write 5 subjects? We go pay foh that.
Yo want to write 6 subjects? We go pay foh that… Yo want to write 10? We go pay foh that! It nuh matter how much subjects yo want to write, we will pay for that!” She then encouraged persons to be fiscally prudent.
” Yo know what yo go take the money from the subjects and do? Yo invest it in a credit Union account… Into a little business that you wanted to start. Ladies and gentlemen that is good news.” King said while claiming this promise to be an example of NDP wanting to “partner with you to ensure that your finances are better.” NDP’s PRO, King, took a parting shot at local health services and told the gathering of plans to build a new hospital that would ease the additional stress some families suffer at the thought of entrusting their loved ones in the care of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. Responding to an apparent impromptu question from her audience as to whether or not “the hospital free?”, King explained her party’s proposed National Health Insurance Scheme. She pointed to cases where patients are unable, at times, to afford ” the basic medications.”
The NHIS, she said, would alleviate the need to beg in service of health care costs. King then promoted Dr. Godwin Friday as a visionary who recruited West St. George MP hopeful, Kay Bacchus-Baptiste into the electoral race.
An enticement made possible by Bacchus-Baptiste’s willingness to forego ‘eating ah food’ from her private law practice in order to serve the people of SVG “he said Sister Baptiste, partner with us to take care of the finances and the family of the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.” King ended her speech with an exhortation that West St. George “remember when you vote for the New Democratic Party, you would be voting for a party that is to look after yout Financially, you’re going to be voting for a party that would look after your Family and you would be voting for Dr. the Honorable Godwin Friday who’s going to ensure that jobs would be created for you and your family.”
