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Persons who worked on the road cleaning programme wait to be paid in Kingstown on Monday. (iWN photo)
Persons who worked on the road cleaning programme wait to be paid in Kingstown on Monday. (iWN photo)
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Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says he is happy when he sees women among workers under the government’s road cleaning programme.

The government recently spent EC$2.5 million on a road-cleaning programme, which coincided with the reopening of schools.

“We are doing this, as we usually do — one of the several we do every year and over 5,200 persons got short term work on this,” the prime minister told a press conference in Kingstown last Tuesday.

“And I am happy when I see the women on the road working. I hear some people say how is it that they get so many people on the road working,” he said.

The prime minister further said:

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“I know one thing for sure, when a woman goes on the road and they’re working, they get a few hundred dollars, whether with a contract or the seven days work, or eight days or 10 days, whatever they get, one thing for sure, that money going buy a shoe for their children going back to school or a book bag.

“There is no chance that that money going get gamble, there is no chance that that money going to be at a rum shop, there is no chance that that money is going to other pursuits which the holy father may not want to hear about.

“So I am happy when I see a lot of women doing the short — these are women who hold their households together, strong women, Caribbean women, looking out for their children for the next generation, to make sure that they send their children to school, in this education revolution, so that  — you think that thing that without this education revolution, Jinelle could be number two from New Grounds in London? Or, or Elroy will be — eh? And, staying in your constituency that Marcella going off to finish her final year in a biochemical degree? Ah just giving yo’ examples.”

Jinelle Adam and Elroy Lewis are minister counsellors at the SVG embassies in London and Taiwan.

They, along with Marcella are residents of South Central Windward, the constituency represented by Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar, who also spoke at Tuesday’s press conference.

15 replies on “‘I am happy when I see the women on the road working’ — PM”

  1. Casman samuel says:

    For only 2.5 million this rd work should be done more frequently, say every four months instead of just twice per year.
    The highway and secondary systens are used by all for several reason including running,cycling just to name a few.
    With the over grown bush it becomes very dangerous to navigate by the users !
    By cleaning the highway it also make the country more airy beautiful

    1. Casman, Wow! What a deal! Only 2.5 Million. Where do I sign-up? Hey, Why don’t we instead pass a law that the property owner has to keep the bush from growing into the road as they do in most all other countries in the world; instead of us having to pay already high taxes in order to keep Ralph in power by giving crumbs to the poor.

      1. first sensible thing i ever heard you said …..you finally remembered to take you meds lol.
        ah joke man . bigup Jamal

  2. Ricardo Francis says:

    Ralph, you should provide a list of all the people you continue to victimize for the simple purpose that they do not agree with your politics

    Ralph, you should stop picking the few of the economic disadvantaged that have been placed in position for grand standing purposes, while the who is who continues, to reap the significant benefits.

    Ralph,How many Vincentians are in foreign countries spying on other Vincentians to satisfy this government’s agenda of keeping tabs on all those who disagree with their politics?

    Ralph, every rope has an end. I hope that you should know that your rope also has an end.

    Ralph, I am sure that my grandparents must be rolling in their graves.

    Ralph, road workers want secured jobs with continued benefits and not to be paraded in the name of politics.

    Ralph, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not your personal plantation and or your personal bank account.

    Ralph, why are you so afraid, to speak about me in a public forum?

    I am very fearless and courage.

    Ricardo Francis, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in Waiting and in the Making

  3. And so are many of us happy for these mothers; but also wander who watches over their little ones during those short periods of road working jobs? As a child I recall the very program; seeing two of my aunties carrying wooden tray of stones on their heads and raking brush, sweating.
    Sadly today in reading this article; I ask myself, what has change since then, how much progress have we made? And how has it impacted positively the lives of women, the mothers of our babies, and the future of our SVG? Why our babies mothers are still sweating on our roads to ensure their little ones are ready for school?
    What are being done to ensure that these babies’ fathers are made accountable?

    1. Elma, someone has to do the work. You talk as if they are slaves because they VOLUNTEER to do this 2 weeks of the year. I sweat in my house when I am not doing any work. Come give me a free hand-out for it! Best would be if we can get the lawyers and the politicians and thier families to do it, but that will never happen. Oh, those poor women sweating on the roads for only 2 weeks of the year, so that they can get a few dollars. Maybe Ralph will arrange free daycare Paid by those who have real jobs) for these mothers, so we can pay more taxes for those salaries. The money will not come from Ralph’s Entertainment Allowance, His First Class travel and hotel fund for him going overseas. It is terrible that these women bring thier small children with them. It is dangerous to think they can work and watch the children at the same time. that is why one child near my place fell off a wall and cracked his head open to be rushed to Milton Cato. All of this is because Ralph has not thought this all through, to come up with something better; nor will he sacrifice anything from his high pay, bonuses and privelidged lifestyle.

  4. He said it and worst he said that he is happy!

    Are good and sustainable jobs not all about economic planning? If any other minister outside of SVG were to make such a ridiculous and crass statement and worst, a Prime Minister at that, he would be immediately hounded out of Office.

    But on this man’s family’s plantation, otherwise known as SVG, nothing is taken to be amiss. Women on a road-cleaning programme! Shame on us, for that is all our existing crop of mothers and women are good for in SVG. Road-cleaning for a few days per year!

    Who said that plantation life had improved for the many?
    https://fee.org/articles/the-essence-of-the-road-to-serfdom-in-cartoons/

  5. When we have in a state leader an idealised dogma, based on Capitalism vs. Socialism, you end up with a Prime Minister like ours being happy to see our mothers and women road-cleaning and engaging themselves in grass cutting, but would he ever have been so glad to see his mother or now his daughters doing the same, one doubts it. But with his ULP’s brand of economic planning, we get from him the Venezuelan example.

    The Venezuela example:
    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/venezuelas-oil-output-plummeted-190822190623906.html

    “Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. But its oil output, once Latin America’s largest, has fallen faster in the past year than Iraq’s after the American invasion in 2003, according to data from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries”.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjPpntE5Nj4

    What we as a nation now gets from Ralph Gonsalves and his extended family’s rule over us, is not individuals rising from rags to riches, but rather extensive serfdom for all. And look at what this copycat Dictator is crowing about. Out of the large mass of our country’s unemployed, just 5200 persons receiving short term work, engaged in road-cleaning.

    Ralph Gonsalves and those around him misuses the Russian revolution experience, as they seek to beguile the rest of us into organised serfdom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y-TWFKw4tU they talk the talk of Marxism but walk the walk of grubby dictatorship.

  6. Sounds like election talk to me. How does he know that NONE of the money will be spent on rum? I know for a fact that some of it is spent on rum. What a false prophet!
    It makes me sick to hear what this guy says sometimes. Road Cleaning jobs are all he knows how to do to create jobs. Very sad jobs that make those that have real jobs pay more taxes so that these people can get crumbs to supplement thier Western Union Income. This is like when he gives out free houses and building materials, destroying incentives for those to get real jobs that do not exist because of his losing economic policy.
    Yes, I am sure it makes him happy!

    1. JB you obviously do not know right from wrong.

      James thank you for your analysis, I am surprised JB has nothing to say about that.

  7. We must keep our natural environment clean and sustainable..because one day we gonna ask ourselves why did we destroy so much, why didn’t we teach our children to be more environmentally conscious..our ancestors who live centuries ago will definitely have more wisdom than modern day man…keep up the great work woman and men ..honor’s to Ralph gonsalves the environment is the responsibility of us all

  8. Ricardo Francis says:

    I take note that you have failed and or refused to publish my comment.

    There is a tendency to manufacture and fabricate information about those who are independent in their thinking. There are very few people who know anything about me, except what is fabricated to satisfy a political agenda.

    I am very fearless and courage.

    Ricardo Francis, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in Waiting and in the

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