The ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) has no moral authority to talk about the impact of protest on tourism as the party is “the grandfather of violence” in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, says New Democratic Party (NDP) Vice-President St. Clair Leacock.
The Central Kingstown MP, who is also the NDP’s spokesperson on crime, defended the billboard commenting on the homicide situation in the country, which his party erected in Gibson Corner last week.
“Let me say it in the clearest of language, the New Democratic Party will not lose the vote of a single NDP supporter over those billboards,” Leacock said on his party’s show, New Times, on NICE Radio on Wednesday.
“In fact, the vast majority of them would like us to be more aggressive in removing this government from office; far more aggressive because they have overstayed their time,” Leaock said.
“To use Nature’s words, they are expired goods,” he said, referring to the South Leeward MP, Nigel “Nature” Stephenson, who is also an NDP vice-president.
The billboard reads: “THERE WERE 52 HOMICIDES IN SVG IN 2023”, “CRIME IS OUT OF CONTROL”, “THE NDP HAS A PLAN TO MAKE SVG SAFE AGAIN”.
The billboard directs the public to the NDP’s social media pages and website for the party’s plan to address crime in SVG.
Supporters of the government have said that the billboard is targeted at visitors to St. Vincent and would affect the country’s tourism industry.
However, Leacock said that too many members of the ULP administration “are functioning on the belief that they have special privilege, they are God’s chosen people; they have an entitlement; they are the benchmark; they are the standards of what’s good, what’s right and what’s wrong and what’s not right or wrong in St. Vincent.”
He noted that the NDP has other billboards, including one at the party’s Murray’s Road headquarters “redirecting” attention to the four pillars of the economy.
“Hypocrisy is endemic in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” Leacock said, adding that it is worse “when hypocrisy finds yourself engaged with connivance and wutliss-mindedness”.
He said that amidst political protest in 2000, supporters of the ULP, “including the current head of government”, protested near the resort in Canouan.
“… and they boastfully showcased that they had blocked the road,” Leacock said, adding that the protesters even cooked in the road and a visiting couple to have their marriage ceremony elsewhere.
“That was tourism!” Leacock said, adding that the ULP was content to do anything to remove the NDP administration from office.
“Because, in fact, they had done worse than that,” Leaock said, adding that the ULP blocked the roads to “all kinds of establishments” and to the airport.
He pointed out that hotels would suffer once the road to the airport is blocked.
“I remember the late Basdeo Panday, the prime minister of Trinidad Tobago, they had to cut the wire through the fence at ET Joshua [Airport] to allow him to get to his hotel,” Leaock said.
“I was there when we came close to civil war, with the prime ministers of other countries had to come in to deal with the chaos that was St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” Leaock said, adding that he was head of the Employers Federation at the time.
“So nobody must lecture or teach or direct the New Democratic Party about political morality or good order and law and order and what is good for St. Vincent and Grenadines. Since when? What is their record of comment on those destructive actions that took place?” Leacock said, adding that these were not standalone incidents.
“The ULP is the grandfather of violence. Don’t come and lecture St. Clair Leacock on principles, you born-again ambassadors and diplomats and radio commentators.”
Leaock said he remembered it “just like yesterday” that he would be going to Victoria Park in uniform for parades and Ralph Gonsalves, who is now prime minister, would be riding his bicycle near the Grammar School Bridge.
“… he had no participation in national interest of any kind, much more to being on parade and they now coming to talking about patriotism, and loyalty,” Leacock said.
I strongly agree and it’s the opinion of many people, ah man once said to go to the cemetry and spek to glendene..
The way our citizens are killing of each other should never be accepted as the new norm in this country. I get the impression that the government by their utterances , could care less about whether the surge in killings is being accepted as normal in Vincy.