Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, is out of touch with the
needs of the farmers and fisherfolk of this country.
The Prime Minister said that Sandals resort would not be purchasing produce from individual
farmers and fisherfolk. Speaking on radio recently, Dr Gonsalves said that farmers and fisherfolk
would have to ‘step up to the plate’ and come together if they wanted to sell to sandals. This is a
shocking dereliction of his duty in failing to support farmers and fisherfolk.
President of the New Democratic Party (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 be working 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 care about the ordinary people.”
In his recent budget address, the Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves said, “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 meet some of the farmers and fisherfolk and find out first-hand 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.”
We need to level the playing field for local farmers and fisherfolk, we need to ensure they have
access to market. The government should be working to ensure that local businesses can access
these opportunities today, not some distant point in the future. An NDP government will
prioritise this; we will create a National Agency to support the farmers and fisherfolk to receive
market access, we will negotiate with businesses ahead of time to ensure they receive the same
opportunities. Farmers can only compete if they can sell at a reasonable rate and competing
against others on the same basis.
Developing SMEs
The Unity Labour Party (ULP) has totally lost sight of the needs of Vincentians. It has failed to
stimulate the economy, so that Vincentians can start their own businesses. Further, there is too
much red tape, which hinders the progress of starting a business. The World Bank shows that St
Vincent and the Grenadines is ranked 130 among countries in the world for ease of doing
business and setting up businesses. This country is far behind our regional neighbours.
The NDP believes that the private sector should be the lifeblood of our economy, which will
deliver jobs and wages to create a better quality of life for Vincentians. The NDP will pay special
attention to the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).There are significant
benefits that can be achieved through entrepreneurship. These include, increasing the number of
self-employed persons through the creation of quality jobs. This new work environment will
produce new economic activities to increase the motivation and skills of the unemployed; to
actively seek and create new employment opportunities within their own communities; to ensure
an equitable distribution of wealth though all sectors of the national economy. This will lead to a
reduction of poverty and the negative effects associated with poverty, and to empower people to
trust in their own abilities and knowledge.
We will adopt measures from consultations with representative of organizations of employers
and workers, to create and strengthen an enterprise culture, which favours initiatives, enterprise
creation, productivity, environmental consciousness, quality, good labour, industrial relations,
and adequate social practices which are equitable. We will engage in pursuing the development
of entrepreneurial attitudes, through the system and programs of education, entrepreneurship and
training linked to job creation needs and the attainment of economic growth and development,
with particular emphasis being given to the importance of good labour relations and the multiple
vocational and managerial skills needed by SMEs.
An NDP government will make it easier to set up businesses in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
We will start a review of business regulations that are slowing down or stopping new businesses
from being established. The NDP will also establish the National Innovation Hub to promote
entrepreneurship and new businesses. And, create a national innovation campus that will give
new businesses a home to build and a platform for the future.
The NDP is committed to working to create an entrepreneur culture among Vincentians while
developing the four pillars of the economy: agriculture, tourism, the blue economy and the new
economy. These initiatives will resuscitate the ailing economy of the country and address the
unemployment crisis by creating more and better-paid jobs for the people of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines.