Southern Grenadines MP, Terrance Ollivierre has accused the Unity Labour Party government of not using housing for 2,500 people in the Southern Grenadines after Hurricane Beryl ravaged the area on July 1.
“I’m giving you this information for the first time. I was reliably informed that the authorities were given instruments that could house 2,500 people of the Southern Grenadines,” he said at a recent New Democratic Party campaign event in Union Island.
“And they were asking, ‘Why weren’t these given to the people so that they can set up themselves and be comfortable … here in the Grenadines?’” he said, apparently referring to a question by his source.
“They told me the date when they arrived in St. Vincent; they told me the date when they arrived in Union Island. And they are asking why. They asked me, ‘Why were they not give unto the people of the Southern Grenadines to live so they can be comfortable?”
Hundreds of people left Union Island in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which tore through the Southern Grenadines as a category 1 cyclone.
Since then, the government has rehabilitated the former teachers’ college campus in Arnos Vale to house primary and secondary school students from Union Island, even as some of their schoolmates continue their education on their home island.
“But you have your plot, you have your play, and you want to carry them up to the mainland, but I want to tell you, Grenadines people we don’t turn back and we nah care what you give we, we’re going to vote you out,” said Ollivierre who will seek a sixth consecutive five-year term in office in general elections expected later this year.
“And we’re going to make sure that the government that cares for us will be in office to take care of our needs because we realise that you haven’t been treating us properly,” the opposition MP said.
“You carry us up to the mainland, to what? Beat us into subjection? No food. Where we live, you’re not paying the rent. What will happen to us just now?” Ollivierre said.
The government is paying rent for people from the Southern Grenadines who were displaced by the storm and are living in St. Vincent.
Further, the government has committed to assisting storm victims to repair their damaged homes.
However, Ollivierre said that the government is not paying the rent or utilities bills for the accommodation in St. Vincent, as they promised.
“… and then you’re [jumping] up to say, ‘NEMO has no money.’ Where the money gone? Why are you treating us like this? You want us to live on white rice for the whole week; no food at all.”
Less than a month after the storm, Parliament passed, with opposition support, a supplementary budget of EC$136 million to go toward hurricane response and recovery.
Ollivierre called on the government to act quickly so that Southern Grenadines residents can return to their homes.
“… because if you think you carry them to St. Vincent and they are going to vote for you, you tell a lie. You tell a lie. You’re just wasting your time. Because Grenadines people change their clothes; they don’t change their minds, and we don’t change anything else.”
Ollivierre said that his margin of victory has increased with each election.
“… And I assure you that this time, the margin will be bigger than ever…” he said.
Until we start moving away from dependency on foreign aid we will never stand on our feet but always be begging on our knees and never moving forward. All of the things to make us self sufficient are never exploited by the government; and ignorance and selfishness on the part of out leaders is what keeps up in this never ending cycle.
Why only now Terrance Olliverre is speaking out? I have wondered and asked what sort of representation he does for the Southern Grenadines. Election is around the corner, therefore, he wants votes. We are calling for new representation. You have not stood up for the people you are supposed to be representing. Shame on you.
Would the people of the southern Grenadines who were displaced be allowed to vote in their constituency, if they are out for more than 6 months?
With all due respect Ms Ambrose i beg to differ. However, to be on the safe side I urge you to go to the Office of the Clerk of the House of Parliament and asked for the Hansard (parliamentary record) of the period that Terrance Ollielvierre has been MP for the Southern Grenadines.
I have make it my pleasure to listen to parliametary debates. Terrance spoke with passion on every topic that affect the Southern Grenadines but with hardly any actions by government to deal with the issues.You dont have to take my word as gospel, check the records.
The present regime have continued the wicked ways of Old Labor in the treatrment of Grenadines people. All elected MPs on the Opposition side have been pressured by this government by making it appear as if theye’re not respresenting the people who elect them. The government is who failed the people. Terrance, as the messenger, has done well but his true representation will not amount to much because he is in Opposition where many of his brilliant ideas for the Southern Grenadines will not bear fruit.
That is why we must get rid of the ULP.