Transparency and development

By *Jomo Sanga Thomas

(“Plain Talk” May 2, 2025)

Plain Talk has repeatedly said that the worst development in post-independence St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the triumph of the Unity Labour Party and the New Democratic Party as our country’s most important socialising organisations/institutions.

We have witnessed the steady and unfortunate erosion of the influence and authority of schools, the church and elders. Unless some of us commit to engaging in conscious work to bring balance back into our discourse our efforts at national development will be hampered and or retarded for years to come.

Too many policies and projects get mired in the fog of narrow, hyper-partisan discourse, with this side or the other blinding supporting a given position with no thought of reason, compromise or concern for the state of the nation. All too often, wilful ignorance is the glue that holds most of those who go to the airways to offer their views and opinions. We will have hell to pay if things don’t change soon.

Pick any issue in modern Vincentian life, and the point becomes clear as day. The problem at the “modern” port is trending, so let’s start there.

“I listened to the expert, Lenski and in my opinion, he was very honest and straightforward in his presentation. He was saying that he recognised a problem and stated that they are in the process of solving it. Who else are we to listen to if not the expert?” 

This was a comment on my Facebook page under a Travis Harry post about the damaged port. Oh, such a cogent and honest comment. But it presupposes something and misses some elementary truths. I have never questioned Lenski Douglas’ honesty, training, experience, or commitment to his craft. But there is a problem — neither the port management nor the government announced that there was a problem. Had Travis not taken the pictures, the problem would have remained shrouded in secrecy.

Moreover, do we ever learn? Were we not told to trust and follow the experts during the COVID plandemic? If only we had the stats on all those who mindlessly followed the experts and now regret taking the toxic jab.

In 2022, the government contracted with Aecon, a Canadian construction company, to build the EC$700 million port. No feasibility or environmental study was conducted, sustainability was not mentioned, and no projections were offered as to what our nation intended to export as we embarked on the most expensive developmental project since the construction of the Argyle International Airport.

The government’s rationale for the new port was that the old deep-water harbour, built over 60 years ago, had outlived its usefulness and that the Campden Park port, which Gonsalves derisively labelled as “Mickey Mouse”, was not fit for purpose.

Add to the mix the sad reality that an import bill that runs into the billions and a food bill comprising mostly unhealthy processed foods that tops a billion dollars.

And then this: a disclosure from a Caribbean Development Bank study that our country could have easily and sustainably survived with a US$20 million rehabilitation of the Kingstown Harbour.

Further to the sad state of affairs is the damning expose last month that there is big trouble at the “modern” port which Aecon, a supposedly reputable company with continent-spanning building experience, is building.  A significant portion of the sand at the port had leaked out of the dammed area, leaving a vast lake.

There’s a treasure trove of issues worthy of discussion. Is this money well spent? How could such an experienced company deliver such faulty construction? Why was the problem kept as a closely guarded secret? What are the feasibility, sustainability, merits, and demerits of the CDB study? Who is paying for the repair work? Suppose the leakage had occurred a few days after the May completion date, when Aecon had officially turned over the project to our government. 

These important issues are buried under heated rhetoric between the major contending parties. Our newspapers, especially the “Star”, are reduced to being an obedient voice for the government rather than honouring their role as guardians of the nation’s interests. Three weeks ago, The Vincentian, in a front-page story, completely disregarded the problem at the port and compared queries and questions about the leakage to “scaremongering”, similar to what occurred during the airport construction at Argyle. No official mentioned the issue of cost overrun, which could go into the millions.

Travis Harry, the courageous and intelligent patriot who broke the story regarding the difficulties at the port, has been savagely attacked for fearlessly carrying out his civic duty. They want to “live light and weigh heavy”. For them, citizens must mindlessly line up behind them rather than protect and defend the nation’s interests.

Clearly, the governing elite and its leader have a God complex. They can do nothing wrong except that, in the eyes of the people, the emperor has no clothes. Does anyone believe that the fisheries complex built at Owia at a cost of EC$35 million was money well spent? Can our state managers take credit for the deplorable conditions at our schools, with Thomas Saunders Secondary and the Girls’ High Schools forced to function in temporary quarters while the schools remain in a permanent state of disrepair?

Would the unhealthy mould condition at the Ministry of Health have gained attention and remediation had it not been for the advocacy of the Public Service Union? The main courthouse in Kingstown has been closed, thus negatively impacting the course of justice, partly because of a mould problem. Should these not be major concerns in a society serious about its democracy?

Prime Minister Gonsalves announced that his government is borrowing another US$93 million.  Most brazen is his uncaring announcement that the loan, EC$245 million, has no specific developmental purpose. Ominously looming is the 2025 elections. Would this money be squandered in an attempt to assist the ULP’s electoral chances? Should there not be a robust debate in which the government is asked to account for all it is doing? Should all responses be wrapped in partisan verbiage?

No modern society can advance without a strong and educated civic society. Citizens must reject our country’s dominant tendency to politicise everything and anything and demand wholesome and meaningful answers.

*Jomo Sanga Thomas is a lawyer, journalist, social commentator and a former Speaker of the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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