Lawyer Grenville Williams, who is bidding to be the Unity Labour Party’s candidate for South Leeward in the next general elections, says he is confident that his wife will support his candidacy.
Williams, who is also head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, is married to Shafia London, daughter of E.G. Lynch, a former host of the opposition New Democratic Party’s (NDP)“New Times” radio programme.
Lynch, who no longer hosts the programme because of ill health, was a rabid critic of the Ralph Gonsalves headed ULP government.
When asked if his wife supports his candidacy bid, Williams told I-Witness News, “Let me answer that question this way: every individual has a right to self determination. If I am the father of the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, whether he is for NDP or ULP, I have a right to determine which party I support. I may support one or the other or I may support none. For me, in St. Vincent, we must get to the point where we appreciate that persons are individuals, most of them are capable of thinking critically and therefore making up their own minds who they support.”
Williams further said that his relationship with his wife is not based his politics.
“The fact that I married the daughter of E.G. Lynch was not a political decision. This was a decision based on the love of two persons. Politics had nothing to do with it, but, I do believe in the saying that a house divided cannot stand, and therefore, if I am a candidate for the ULP, I have no doubt in my mind that my wife will strongly support any decision I make, because we operate as a family unit.
“We have a son together and we always work in best interest of our family. Who you are related to is immaterial. I have family who support ULP, I have family who support NDP, and I do embrace all of them,” he further told I-Witness News in an interview last week, in which he also outlined his vision for South Leeward.
(Read also: FIU head, Grenville Williams, eyes ULP candidacy in South Leeward)
“… as a people, we must exercise, as I said, critical thinking. Simply because a person’s father, a person’s wife, any relation is affiliated with any organisation, any movement, it doesn’t mean that that individual cannot appreciate someone else who has a different view and it does not mean that if your father was a spokesperson of a party that you agree with the policies and the views of that party.
“And the wife that I have is a very strong woman, a very independent woman. Most people in St. Vincent would know that. A woman who would stand up for her rights, generally, and a woman, I believe who will be persuaded by principles, by policies; and if those polices in her household, by the fact that her husband is supporting the ULP, then I believe she will support those policies as well.”
London, who is Regional Commercial Manager of St. Vincent Brewery Ltd., is a former executive director of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and a national scholar.
Williams spoke to I-Witness News one day before Monica Thomas, wife of NDP candidate for South Central Windward, Addison “Bash” Thomas, in an unrelated interview, said she no longer supports her husband’s candidacy, because of personal reasons.
(Read also: Wife of NDP candidate says she is a ULP supporter)
Is Mr. Granville Williams still in the position as Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit? What kind of country do we have, why is he speaking in political terms when he is in a position that should show impartiality? Lord help us.
Mr Williams the people of SVG have a few questions for you, since you’re the head of the Financial Intelligence. What happened to the Million dollars that was taken into a bank in SVG, we would like to know, and tell us how much money has been stolen from the people of SVG from all these people who are being transfered all to different jobs in SVG, Some of them even given better jobs.
And what about members in government building houses worth millions of dollars when their salaries are nowhere close to that figure, did you investigate and made sure they didn’t steal our money?. We would like these questions answered sir, you work for the people of SVG and we want to know how much money has been stolen thus far.
If this mans record at the FIU and his obvious political bias is anything to judge him on, let him rot.
His failure to confiscate the US$ million in cash that the ULP scumbag hiked all over Kingstown and all the US cash banked by family friends and members, no investigation, no enquiry by him or FIU.
I suspect some sought of political mischief by the Donkey, he must be encouraging both Jomo Thomas and Grenvile Williams to go after the same constituency. Neither would do so without the Donkeys explicit instructions, so I wonder what the game is, which one is he trying to destroy.
It may well be a way of getting even with Lynch.