Leader of SVG Green Party, Warrant Officer Ivan Bertie O’Neal BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA, strongly believes that SVG’s economy, under the highly incompetent and backward thinking ULP Regime, is in a terrible mess.
The ULP Regime is not educationally qualified to competently manage/operate SVG’s economy well enough, to create jobs and the sustainable fiscal surpluses needed to lift our country into prosperity.
Agriculture is dead, the roads are falling apart, poverty is high, unemployment is high, crime is high and the Argyle Airport is a big white elephant – a misfit to sound fiscal planning. The ULP Regime is constantly digging a hole to fill a hole – borrowing very large sums of money to pay Public Debt. Begging is no way to run an economy and this policy has placed the livelihoods and financial future of Vincentians at risk.
The artificially high exchange rate of US$1 to EC$2.70 is also part of the problem, as it stifles economic growth and causes poverty, gross criminality, spiralling high costs of living, high rates of unemployment and the jail being full of youths who cannot read. This must change at the earliest opportunity.
Entrepreneurs and small businesses in SVG have to compete in a global market when they try to export their goods and services. Being part of an artificially inflated currency is hurting SVG businesses and reducing their opportunities to trade. SVG must withdraw from the Eastern Caribbean dollar in order to boost small businesses. It is small businesses that make economies strong and SVG needs hundreds more strong, small businesses to boost economic growth.
The safe and responsible way to manage government resources is to invest in projects that bring returns and then use the returns from these projects to modernise infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, factories and roads. This way, thousands of long-term jobs are created and the economy is strong and sustainable.
A Green Government would invest wisely and build projects that bring continual returns. We would create thousands of new, long-term jobs, economic growth and continual surplus revenue. Then, with the continual surplus revenue, a Green Government would invest incrementally in the infrastructure that our country badly needs.
SVG needs new products and new markets and we urgently need factories. Our economy needs competent leadership that can competently manage SVG’s finance. An SVG Green Party government has the expertise to competently run our economy to bring revenue into the country and prosperity to the people.
SVG very urgently needs a change of Government from the highly incompetent ULP Regime to a very competent SVG Green Party Government, to build a very strong and sustainable economy.
A Green government would modernise the SVG economy to be an export-driven economy. SVG can only increase revenue and create thousands of new jobs by exporting new products such as canned fish, bulk tankers of fresh water, and agro-products like tea, juices and baby food. It is crucial that SVG creates productive economic sectors.
Our country needs change to get out of this prolonged terrible economic mess.
