By Jonathan Marks
Around the world, history shows us the dangers of governments that hold on to power for twenty five, thirty, even forty years. In Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang has ruled since 1979, his family rich while his people remain poor. In Uganda, Yoweri Museveni has sat in office since 1986, promising change but delivering only more of the same. In North Korea, a single family has ruled for three generations, turning a nation into a prison. In Cuba, Fidel Castro held on for nearly fifty years, locking the people in poverty. In Russia, Vladimir Putin’s endless reign has meant repression, corruption, and war.
What do all these have in common? These are dictatorships and communist regimes. Long tenures of twenty five, thirty or forty years are not the mark of healthy democracies. They are the mark of systems where power is hoarded, accountability destroyed, and people silenced.
And yet, right here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, our Prime Minister asks us to grant him just that, thirty years in power. That is not normal in democracies. It is not what small, vibrant democracies like ours should ever accept. When we look around our own region, in St. Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados, we see change. We see governments rotate, leaders step aside, new voices and fresh ideas rise. In none of those countries would one person dare to hold the people hostage for thirty years.
What do we see instead in St. Vincent? Decay. Corruption. Roads falling apart, schools and hospitals neglected, young people migrating for opportunities that should be found at home. Lawlessness spreading. And worst of all, a justice system that no longer inspires confidence. The courts are supposed to be the people’s shield. Instead, this government uses them as a sword. When civil servants and teachers stood up against an unjust vaccine mandate and won their case, the government appealed, not to seek justice, but to punish. That is not democracy. That is intimidation.
This is what happens when power lasts too long. Complacency sets in. Entitlement sets in. Victimization becomes harsher. Apathy takes root. The government begins to believe it owns the people, when in fact it is the people who own the government.
The lesson is simple. Thirty years in power belongs to dictatorships, not to democracies. And certainly not to small democracies like ours, where the spirit of freedom, accountability, and renewal has always run strong.
It is time to turn the page. To remind those in office that Vincentians are not subjects but citizens. To end the reign of corruption, fear, and lawlessness. To demand the same change that our Caribbean neighbors accept as normal and healthy.
No country prospers when one family or one party clings to power for decades. And St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be no different. For the sake of our children, our dignity, and our nation’s future, it is time for change.
Jonathan Marks is a concerned Vincentian citizen writing under a pen name.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT THOSE OF ASBERTH NEWS NETWORK