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    ULP View: Enhancing Cooperation Between The United Nations And Regional And Sub-Regional Organisations In Enhancing Confidence Building And Dialogue In Conflict Prevention And Resolution

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    Introduction
    This week, we feature the statement made by Prime Minister, Dr. The Hon Ralph E. Gonsalves at the meeting of the United Nations Security Council held on Monday, April 19, 2021. The meeting which was organised by the current President of the Council, Vietnam, was convened to discuss the role of regional and sub-regional organisations in enhancing confidence building and dialogue in conflict prevention and resolution. Below is the statement in its entirety.

    Thank you Mr. President,
    St. Vincent and the Grenadines thanks the briefers for their insightful comments; and we commend Vietnam for its leadership in initiating this debate on the enhancing of cooperation between the United Nations and regional/sub-regional organisations. This subject is of immediate relevance to my country in the context of a massive natural disaster against the backdrop of the many-sided challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the predicted active Atlantic hurricane season that begins in six weeks’ time. Please permit me a little latitude for a minute or two.


    Mr. President, for eleven days now St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been in the throes of a series of explosive volcanic eruptions on the island of St. Vincent. As a consequence, nearly one-fifth of the island’s population has had to be evacuated to safer areas. A monumental challenge of humanitarian relief, inclusive of security considerations, recovery and reconstruction face us. Without effective cooperation between our country, the United Nations, and our regional/sub-regional organisations, our life and living would be wholly unbearable. Without an enhancement of this cooperation, the relief effort would be stymied and the prospects for our recovery and reconstruction would be dismal.

    The United Nations and its agencies have been actively at work; and the personal leadership of my friend, Secretary-General, António Guterres, has been outstanding. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Regional Security System (RSS), the ALBA, the Association of Caribbean States, and their allied regional agencies have been at the forefront with their magnificent efforts. Still, much more is required to be done. Across our land the faces of men and women are strained and anxious; they are hurting badly. The global community is being summoned to action to our aid in the name of humanity and in accordance with the UN Charter; and it cannot allow itself to make haste slowly.

    Tomorrow, under the auspices of the UN, a Global Appeal Fund for St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be launched. Be generous in your solidarity!

    Turning now, more specifically to conflict-affected settings, it has become a ringing truth that regional institutions in concert with the United Nations, are often best-suited to facilitate the pacific settlement of disputes through:

    the United Nations, are often best-suited to facilitate the pacific settlement of disputes through:

    • mediation,
    • confidence-building,
    • observation and verification missions, and,
    • other measures that promote stability, build trust, and create an environment conducive to development.
      Indeed, any dispute that is likely to endanger international peace and security should first be addressed through these peaceful means, with the assistance and participation of relevant regional arrangements, as enshrined in the UN Charter.

    Mr. President, let us restate foundational principles:
    Security is, at its very core, a collective endeavour that can only be achieved as parties build trust and stable relationships. In this regard, lasting peace can never be imposed. It must emerge organically from among all relevant stakeholders.

    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines believes that regional arrangements, such as ASEAN, the African Union (AU), and our very own Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are often better placed to support peace processes than those entities that are far removed from the unique and specific histories, cultures, politics and material circumstances of development.

    The Security Council is required always to lend its full support and encouragement to all regional mechanisms and refrain from any actions that may circumvent or undermine the legitimate role of regional bodies. We welcome the ongoing efforts of the Secretary-General, and his Special Envoys and Special Representatives, to enhance the cooperation between the United Nations and various regional and sub-regional organisations. The convening platform of the Peace-building Commission (PBC) also proves useful in providing a coherent, multi-stakeholder strategy to assist conflict-affected countries to overcome their challenges. Greater efforts must be made to enhance further this comprehensive “whole-of-system” approach; and regional arrangements must be included at every step of the process.

    Mr. President,
    Conflict prevention and resolution activities are most effective when they are complemented by targeted peace-building and development initiatives that address the root causes of insecurity, improve lives and livelihoods, and bolster national ownership over peace processes. The norms and principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and political independence must always serve as a guidepost for conflict prevention and resolution. In all situations, the mandates of regional organisations ought never to be subverted by hegemonic self-interests or eroded through unilateral action; but ought always to serve as platforms to enhance sovereignty and promote solidarity and cooperation. Still, none of these vital precepts ought ever to blind us to egregious abuse or violation of elemental human rights and the consequential need for appropriate collective action through the Security Council.

    I close respectfully with a reminder: Please help St. Vincent and the Grenadines in its midnight hour of need.
    Thank You.

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    ULP View: SVG’s economy on the upswing


    THE ISSUE

    Two weeks ago, the World Bank issued its economic growth forecast for the Caribbean for the year 2025.  The World Bank projects real economic growth for SVG at 4.9 percent, second only to Guyana’s 10 percent; the latter’s economy is power-charged by its nascent oil and natural gas industry.  If one takes the outlier, Guyana, out of the equation, the average projected economic growth for the rest of the CARICOM region is 2.9 percent, way below the projected real economic growth for SVG of 4.9 percent.

    This projection comes in a sequence to robust economic growth in SVG, post-COVID.  And during the COVID period 2020-2021 (which includes the time of the volcanic eruptions of April 2021, and Hurricane Elsa in July 2021), SVG performed much better than the rest of CARICOM, save and except the outlier, Guyana.

    During the period since the general elections of November 2020, some impressive macro-economic accomplishments in SVG have come to the fore, including:

    1.The largest single increase in minimum wages ever, in excess of one-third on an average; and for some categories of workers, increases by nearly 100 percent.

    2.Salary increases for public servants, cumulatively, over a three-year period (2023-2025) of 7 percent; for nurses an additional 5 percent tax free since January 1, 2024. And there are built-in increments for more than one-half of public servants, amounting to 2 percent annually.

    3.A decrease in personal income tax and corporate tax: At the top, the rate fell from 30 percent to 28 percent; and, at the bottom, there was an increase in the threshold below which no personal income tax is to be paid from $22,000 to $25,000 annually; in short, no worker pays any income tax on his/her first $25,000 annually.

    4.Record levels of capital expenditure achieved by the central government in each of the post-COVID years, arriving at a level in excess of $500 million in 2024; the last year of the NDP time in government, 2000, capital expenditure was a paltry $35 million.  The ongoing physical infrastructure projects are truly amazing.

    5.The opening of the Sandals Resort at Buccament in March 2024; over 300 rooms/suites costing nearly US $300 million (EC$800 million).  Tourism expansion is being ramped up.

    6.The start-up of the US$270 million Modern Port Project in Kingstown, due for completion in August 2025.

    7.The start-up of the $100 million Acute Care Hospital at Arnos Vale; started early this year, due for completion in late 2027.

    8.The sharp rise in tourism arrivals sparked by hotel expansion and airlift: International carriers ply routes to and from SVG with the cities of London, Toronto, New York (3 carriers), Charlotte, Miami, and in early December 2025, Atlanta.  Regional carriers have been added to the roster.

    9.The reform of the NIS so as to protect workers’ pensions and to provide NIS sustainability for at least another 35 years; barring any cataclysmic event.

    10.Medium-to-Low Inflation: Three years ago, the inflation rate was nearly 7 percent driven by external forces; in 2025, inflation has moderated to 2 percent annually.

    11.Monetary stability: Exchange rate of EC$ fixed to US$ at EC$2.70 to US$1.00. No foreign exchange restriction.

    12.Banking and financial stability continues.

    13.Fiscal consolidation and stability; manageable public debt.

    14.Recovery and reconstruction continue apace after COVID (2020-2021), volcanic eruptions (April 2021), Hurricane Elsa (July 2021), Hurricane Beryl (July 2024), intermittent period droughts (2020) – 2025).

    15.Strengthening of food security: Recovery and consolidation in agriculture and fisheries.

    16.Further economic diversification: Culture, the arts, sports, entertainment, professional services, and light manufacturing.

    17.Robust advances in the backbone of telecommunications.

    2001 – 2025: SOCIO-ECONOMIC GROWTH ACCELERATES

    The nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at market prices at the end of the year 2000 was under EC$800 million; in 2025, the similar metric is EC$3.2 billion, more than four times the number for 2000.  The average GDP per head of population in 2000 was under EC $8,000; in 2025, the comparable figure is EC$29,000.  Inflation over the 2001-2025 is estimated, point-to-point, at roughly 50 percent, in the application of a GDP deflator.  Thus, on an average, personal incomes have more than doubled in real terms.  This is reflected, too, in the incomes of the working people.  In the case of public servants, the salaries and benefits, in real terms, have increased faster than the growth of real GDP; in other words, they have benefited well from the GDP increases.
    According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which constructs the Human Development Index (HDI), and measures countries accordingly, SVG has moved from “the medium level” human development in 2000 to “a high level of human development” in the post-COVID period.  This index includes measurements of per capita income, years of schooling, poverty and unemployment, life expectancy, social protection, and certain health indicators.

    All of this progress on the socio-economic front is evident in the following facts, among others:
    1.Steep rise in real average per capita incomes as shown above.

    2.More persons are in paid employment than ever before: Unemployment has fallen from 21 percent of the population to approximately 10 percent.  The number of active workers (employees and own-account workers) registered at the NIS has moved from some 30,000 at the end of 2000 to 46,000 at the end of 2024; and the total population has remained stable over that time period.

    3.Poverty has fallen from 37 percent of the population in 2000 to more than one-half of that number in 2024; indigence (“dirt poor” poverty) was 26 percent in 2000 and dropped to under 5 percent in 2024; undernourishment has followed the same decline as indigence.

    4.The number of houses has nearly doubled in 24 years from around 25,000 in 2000 to 47,000 in 2024.  And the quality of the houses has improved immensely.5.Water and electricity connection to homes has jumped from under 70 percent of the homes (a smaller number) to 90 percent of the homes (a much larger number) between the years 2000 and 2025.

    6.Life expectancy at birth has risen sharply; maternal deaths are now statistically zero; in-fact mortality has slumped dramatically; immunization of children under the age of 5 years is statistically 100 percent.

    7.Social protection has widened and strengthened: Public assistance for poor people has risen from $50 per month in 2000 to $300 monthly, in 2025; today nearly 5,000 persons (mainly elderly, unable to work, or disabled) are on public assistance.  At the NIS, minimum pensions, and average pensions, have risen substantially; and as the NIS system matures nearly 10,000 persons receive NIS pensions — there is large growth in the number of pensioners; the over-60 segment of the population is the fastest growing in the country.

    8.In 2000, there were sharply 8,000 vehicles on the road; today, there are nearly 35,000 vehicles on the road.

    9.In 2000, there were hardly any cell phones and little or no internet.  Today, there are over 120,000 cell phones and internet penetration to homes is in excess of 75 percent.

    10.Access to quality, affordable health has been enhanced by leaps and bounds.

    11.Recreation, sports, and culture have advanced immeasurably in every material particular.

    12.Overall, good governance and a deepening of democracy have advanced to among the best in the world, as assessed by independent observers.

    TOWARDS THE FUTURE

    The ULP government in communion with the people, inclusive of the people’s genius, have fashioned for now, and the future, the following for our country’s advancement and development:  A people-centred vision; a philosophy of social democracy as applied to our country’s situation; the rubric of our Caribbean civilisation and its magnificent Vincentian component through which to pursue our path to sustainable development in our own defined way; the quest to build a modern, competitive, many-sided post-colonial economy which is at once local, national, regional, and global; an economic approach grounded in a tri-partite partnership between the private, cooperative (including credit unions), and the state sectors; the shaping of a bundle of appropriate policies and programmes against the background of the above elaborations and in the context of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals; the strengthening of good governance, democracy, an alive constitutionalism, and people’s human rights, inclusive of citizen security; the pursuit of deepening a mature regionalism; and an efficacious foreign policy, inclusive of a foreign trade policy.

    The details of all these ideas, directions, policies, and programmes are available in our 2025 Election Manifesto, the many speeches of our leaders, our various official documents, and the writings of our leaders, inclusive of the prolific outpouring of writings from Comrade Ralph.  And listen carefully to the ULP’s specific policies and programmes, progressive and uplifting, for the next five years.  Creative ideas galore!

    Meanwhile, the NDP wallows in rubbish, verbal abuse, and plans to sell-out our country and our very patrimony.  The NDP will be defeated again!  The NDP and its fellow-travellers, all self-seeking to the core, are already “eating ah food” from the European, Chinese, and Indian wannabe sellers of our passports and assorted hegemons from mainland China. NDP eating Chinese take-away and Indian cuisine from overseas. And we ain’t dreaming.  These are facts!

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