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Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves during the campaign for the November 2020 general elections. (Facebook Live file photo)
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves during the campaign for the November 2020 general elections. (Facebook Live file photo)
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Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, on Saturday, restated his claim that supporters of citizenship by investment are financing the main opposition New Democratic Party’s campaign.

And using language that in local parlance is often interpreted as threatening, Gonsalves said that if these alleged financiers set foot in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, they would not leave.

“I tell you, the NDP campaign is controlled, paid for and run by foreigners based in Switzerland and in Hong Kong. Run by passport sellers.  They hire the successor to SCL to try to steal up the mind of Vincentians,” Gonsalves told party supporters in Georgetown at the opening of his campaign headquarters for North Central Windward, which he has been representing in Parliament since 1994.

“But I am telling them, if they put foot in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, they will not leave here. They could run the campaign from overseas,” said Gonsalves, who is also minister of national security.

Gonsalves noted that former prime minister, NDP founder Sir James Mitchel has said that the Nov. 5 general elections are for the soul of the country.

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“I agree with Mitchell. And Friday, Mitchell and the NDP want to sell the soul of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to foreigners by selling the sacraments of nationhood: passport and citizenship,” Gonsalves said.

“I want to say this:  never will Vincentians, the children of Chatoyer, will allow our passport and allow our citizenship to be sold as if it is eddoes and tomatoes and dasheen and sweet potato. No way!”

He said that between 1764 and 1795, for 31 years, Paramount Chief Chatoyer and the Garifuna and the Calinago fought foreigners over the soul of SVG.

“Chatoyer was defeated by superior arms. I will tell those foreigners this, we will fight to our death; we will never sell our passports or our citizenship

“It doesn’t matter. I’m telling you this; you think that we in Labour will ever allow things like that to happen?”

Gonsalves, stating,  “we have our intelligence”, said that a speech that Opposition Leader Godwin Friday delivered on Oct. 9,the day after election were announced, was written by foreigners.

“That speech had absolutely nothing to do with St. Vincent and the Grenadines.   The speech could have been written for people in Iowa running for state election, in Brussels, in Burkina Faso, in Ecuador, a lot of general bromides,” Gonsalves said.

“I am telling you, Friday and his team have no creative juice in them, they are a bunch of mimic men and women, wanting to sell this country to the highest bidder in relation to the passport.  Never will that happen,” the prime minister said.

“I want to tell them this, the man who you see standing in front of you, I am an ancient warrior, I am accustomed to all kind of struggle. And I am telling you, cut that foolishness out. And Leacock and Cummings and all of you, from tonight, I tell you stop that damn nonsense.  And I am serving notice on all of them, all ah them,” Gonsalves further stated.

Gonsalves’ ULP is making a bid for a fifth consecutive term, while Friday is leading the NDP into election for the first time.

20 replies on “NDP campaign masterminds won’t leave if they set foot in SVG — PM”

  1. This is what I have to say; NDP or ULP somebody gotta government SVG. No passport or citizenship should be sold to persons because they have extra money to burn. You wanna be a VINCY so bad, marry our sons/daughters, sisters/brothers, reside in SVG and help improve SVG then & only then can you get considered #ONEOFUS

  2. Percival Thomas says:

    1. The PM should be aware that SVG is a democratic Country with a multi-party system.
    2. The PM and ULP does NOT own SVG. SVG is not their piece of land.
    3. If his sayings are reported accurately and I have no reasons to doubt they are. Then, he is threatening the NDP and its leaders. And by implication members and supporters of the NDP.
    4. This seems a speech of a man panicking because he fears he will lose the election.
    5. He is trying to bully the NDP. His tactics won’t work this time.
    6. He had 19 years to fix the problems of SVG and he failed to do so. So, I for one will continue to expose his failures and there is a plan to deal with his wastes years.
    7. The supporters of NDP should continue to:
    a) Argue time for a change in government after 19 years. I sense the country want a change from Gonsalves.
    b) We will speak night and day of his failures, like the persistent high levels of unemployment.
    NDP want to give employment opportunities to young people.
    c) The NDP have policies to implement to improve the life of Vincentians. And to remove the FEAR in SVG. To unite the country. PM you are incapable of uniting SVG. This is really important for the country to move forward.
    8. PM, you and the ULP deserve some credit for:
    a) Building AIA. But do we know how it was financed?
    b) Building the Rabacca Bridge.
    c) Introduced universal secondary education.
    PM, in total you failed SVG and it is time to go. Other leaders before you have had to leave the political seen: Joshua, Cato, Mitchell and Eustace leader for a short while.
    PM I wish you well for the future.

  3. Ralph, sounds like a treat, You know the bottom is about to fall out, when the PM has stooped soooo low. desperate time is calling for desperate measures/action. Hold on NDP. joy comes in the morning, The darkest hour before dawn is just in sight. With christ in our vessel ,we can smile at the storm. just saying

  4. Our PM sounds like he sees the boogie man. He may be smokin’ some bad stuff! Maybe he knows all about how to get money from foreigners. Didn’t he pass legislation right after he became PM, that granted “major” tax breaks to wealthy on Mystique? I wonder why that came about???

  5. Wow! he has gone completely crazy. I hope this is not another saying like “we will hunt them down until they exist no more.” “NDP campaign masterminds won’t leave if they set foot in SVG”

    Lock him up I say, he is a danger to society at large.

  6. It is hard to believe that we were once given our freedom by the British so many years ago seeing how we are today where salt sucking is the norm? Vincentians beware of this Red-Shirted family who have now had a twenty-year hold on political power to which they have abused!

    They now come with their insincere appeal to nationalism, even while engaging in cronyism, extensive nepotism, looting the pockets of the very poor through their excessive taxes, imposing in addition their failed socialistic policies that does not work on us or pursuing international begging so as to run the country’s dead economy, all because of their gross economic incompetence and their desire to long rule over us.
    .
    The Economic Failure of Venezuela https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDoy6yt4sFg is a warning!

    Take in addition warnings from North Korea, Nicaragua and Cuba where Labour is clearly not working! The evidence is very clear enough to see, which are, ruined lives, the only possible outcome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1T4N1DMGGE Unless we take the evidential warnings while we have the chance, the North Korean, Venezuelan, Nicaragua and Cuban experience therefore awaits us.

  7. No matter what; our PM sounds sadly desperate here. Campaign Masterminds? Hasn’t he said this same sort of thing in last elections? I think I have heard similar propaganda-style threatening talk from communist and socialist leaders of the past, primarily Stalin and Hitler.

    Educated people can see that our PM is using a propaganda technique called “Projection”:
    (accuse your opponent of something you yourself are guilty of in order to draw attention away from yourself before voters recognize that YOU and, not your opponent are the culprit)!

    Maybe we should be focusing on HIS CAMPAIGN MASTERMINDS instead!

    1. Nathan 'Jolly' Green says:

      You can be sure he is using Wickhams company from Barbados to do exactly what he is talking about.

  8. Nathan 'Jolly' Green says:

    Comrade when will you stop telling lies and all this play acting. I checked out the people you are talking about.

    SCL Group Ltd, SCL Social Ltd, SCL Analytics Ltd, SCL Commercial Ltd, and Cambridge Analytica (UK) Ltd and SCL Elections Ltd, entered into compulsory liquidation in April 2019.

    You are about to stick on the wall with the rest of the S$# you are throwing at it.

    History shows revolutionaries like to use ‘useful idiots’ lets hope the ULP electorate have given up polishing this turd.

    1. Nathan 'Jolly' Green says:

      Grace the difference is like all these political cowards when surrounded by bodyguards he is brave. He will never go to Canada because he does not have protection there, from the law or the people who have accused him of sexual assault.

  9. The PM is a big coward. That’s the height of threat. What does he thinks?
    YOUR TIME IS UP. GO IN PEACE. WE CAN RUN THE COUNTRY WITHOUT YOU. JUST DON’T BALE OUT THE TREASURY, TAKE YOUR 4 AND GO.

  10. You are so afraid of the changes that is coming that you are worrying who won’t leave St.Vincent if they set foot on the rich soil you have contaminated.
    You are so perplex that you know your 4 would be terminated shortly and you got to abandon ship but yet you worrying about who funded NDP campaign.
    You should have happy to know that your baby is awaiting relief, so you can relax, and give birth to the bang gut but yet you talking the struggles Chatoyer made to protect SVG.
    WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR THE PAST 19 YEARS TO PROTECT THE ECONOMY FROM GOING DOWNHILL OUR CHILDRENS FUTURE?
    #GO HOME AND REST. #REPENT OF YOUR WICKED WAYS.
    #ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

  11. The ULP is not responsible for Universal Secondary Education. It was a program the NDP laboured to prepare along with the rest of the OECS. The ULP has to be the luckiest political party, because just when it was about to be implemente, the NDP lost elections and they got to implement it. Finance from the European Union was already in place.
    The project included kindergarten, primary and secondary education, adult education and technical education.
    After 19 years, the ULP has not been able to fully implement the technical education part of it as yet.
    Strange how ULP claimed it as their brain child. Far from the truth.

  12. Nathan Jolly Green says:

    There have been families in SVG where to punish one member the whole family is punished. Spite, malice, hate, blasphemy, all in the equation.

  13. Ask the prime minister the reason why Canada placed visa restrictions on SVG.I am a naturalize Canadian 45 years and counting I know why and he knows that too.Well Mr Prime Minister please don’t mention about who will sell Vincy passportsTalk about WHO WAS SELLING.One of my siblings is a senior immigrtation officer based in Ottawa for the past 36 years.Get my drift?

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