Prime Minister Gonsalves and his Government are out of touch with the needs of farmers and fisherfolk.

Speaking on radio recently, the Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that Sandals resort,
which is set to open next month, will not be purchasing produce from individual farmers and
fisherfolk. He said that farmers and fisherfolk would have to ‘step up to the plate’ and come
together if they want to sell to Sandals.

President of the NDP, Dr Godwin Friday said, "These comments show just how out of touch
the Prime Minister is. He does not have a clue about what farmers and fisherfolk are going
through in this country. Farmers and fisherfolk are working tirelessly and have been told by
the government that there would be opportunities for them.

The government should beworking night and day to ensure local farmers, fisherfolk and businesses get the opportunity to sell to Sandals Resort , but they prefer to point fingers and blame others. Their lack of
action to assist farmers and fisherfolk to position themselves to benefit from the new resort is
a dereliction of duty. It shows they don't cares about the ordinary people "
In his recent budget address , the Minister of Finance Camillo Ginsves said that , "New and
lucrative opportunities abound for farmers and fishers, led by an increasingly vibrant private
sector which has invested heavily in fisheries centres, restaurants and hotels.”
But what is the government doing to enable our people to benefit from any opportunities that
come from hotel investments?

Commenting on the situation, Nigel Stephenson MP for South Leeward said, “Sandals hotel
and other businesses can bring great opportunities for employment and for local businesses.
But, the government has a vital role to facilitate this. This government, however, seems
determined to ignore the opportunities and shirk its responsibility to act as a bridge between
local businesses and the foreign investors so the local businesses could have access to the
new opportunities. Instead, they are pointing fingers and making half-hearted promises. Next
time they visit South Leeward, they must come and meet some of the farmers and fisherfolk
here and find out firsthand about their challenges and what they need to get ahead. And the
government ministers must change their condescending attitude towards ordinary people and
stop being so patronising when they talk about them ."