Chief Radiographer Chevonne Stewart on Sunday used her maiden speech as the ruling Unity Labour Party’s candidate for the Southern Grenadines to pitch for more jobs and public assistance enrollments for constituents.
She also addressed healthcare and access to land and government-funded youth-targeted programmes in the Southern Grenadines.
Stewart was the only person vying to become the candidate after Abdon Whyte, the previous front-runner, withdrew his bid and publicly announced that he was not supporting her as the candidate.
She has been transferred from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Housing, through December, a move that Opposition Leader Godwin Friday has criticised as an effort to shore up her chances at the poll.
Stewart used the first part of her speech at the Union Island Secondary School to “formally introduce myself”, saying that the media had been trying but had been doing “a horrible job”.
She said she is the daughter of two well-known Grenadines men — Hugh Stewart from Union Island and Gussie De Roche of Canouan.
Stewart said that given that her biological father is a Unionite, she spent a lot of her “former years” on Union Island.
“I remember the long trips on the vessel,” she said, referring to the roll-on-roll-off vessels that used to make the trip between Kingstown and the Southern Grenadines.
Stewart said her grandmother used to wake her and her sister up at 2 a.m. to get to Clifton to catch the boat to go back to St. Vincent.
She also spoke of her days at the Seventh-day Adventist Bible school programme and the duets she and her sister sang at the church.
“I remember the days of shelling peas on the porch, the grinding of the corn,” she said and listed the local dishes in which corn is a major ingredient.
“Actually, my most treasured memories of my grandfather, Solomon Stewart, lie in Him always being on a porch and telling my sister, my cousins and I, ‘Alyo stop talk and shell the peas’,” Stewart told the gathering.
She noted that as a teenager, she entered the Miss Easterval Pageant, where Cassian Pope edged her out of the crowd by one point.
“In those days, it wasn’t the Easterval committee. It was OSDA,” she said an listed the name of the people who ran the committee then.
“I been here,” Stewart said and told the crowd, “… the one place that I have always considered my roots is Union Island.
“My second dad that I spoke about, who is from Canouan, and my mom have a ferry that runs the Southern Grenadines.
“So, the Southern Grenadines has always been a part of my life.”
Stewart said it was “against that background that one day I woke up after visiting Union Island two Easters ago, and said to myself, ‘I wonder, if Mr. Snagg is considering running for election again. Maybe I should consider representing the people of the Southern Grenadines.’”
Edwin Snagg, the director of Grandines Affairs, has made five failed bids since 2001 to win the Southern Grenadines, a seat that the main opposition New Democratic Party has held since it was established in 1989.
“I made a call to Mr. Snagg early last year and I said to him, ‘I would like to have a meeting with you’,” said Stewart, who appeared to have some difficulty remember if the call was early or late last year.
“So, he arranged it, and I met him at his office, at the cruise ship terminal, and I said to him, ‘I’m here to ask you if you are considering running again for the Southern Grenadines and if not, to let you know that I think I’m interested.’
“Mr. Snagg light up. I told him, I said, ‘I’m still praying about it. Don’t tell anyone.’ Who was I talking to? By the weekend, the prime minister called me because Mr. Snagg couldn’t keep a secret.”
Regarding her plans for the constituency, Stewart said:
“We are having conversations about specialist clinics monthly so you don’t have to go to St. Vincent every time.
“We could bring the orthopaedic doctor down. We could bring the eye doctor down. We could bring the doctor down based on what is the speciality. We are working on that.”
She said she had mentioned radiology services, adding, “And yes, we are working on radiology services. We are working on lab services.”
Stewart said the government has heard Canouan’s cry for another doctor.
“The Ministry of Health is working hard to put another doctor on the island of Canouan. We understand that you need other supporting staff and services, and yes, the Ministry of Health is aware, and I will stay on them to make sure that the needs of the Southern Grenadines people in healthcare are met.”
She said she had heard constituents’ concerns about job opportunities.
“And it’s a good thing the Minister of Finance is my very good friend,” Stewart said, referring to Camillo Gonsalves.
“I will be forever fighting for more government jobs on the island. We want inclusion in programmes like PRYME (Promoting Youth Micro Enterprises), ON-SITE (Offering National Support for Internship Training and Employment) and YES programme (Youth Empowerment Service) and other programmes that give young people of the Southern Grenadines an opportunity to earn money,” she said.
As regards education, Stewart said the calls for technical and vocational education and training programmes have been heard on all three islands of the Southern Grenadines.
“You have said that you want adult continuing education programmes that are going to develop skill sets because of the lack of jobs on the island. And I have heard your cry, and I will champion it,” she said but mentioned that the minister of education was not at the event.
Stewart, however, noted that Minister of National Mobilisation, Senator Keisal Peters was present.
“Minister Peters, we are asking for increased persons on public assistance. We have a lot of people on the island who could use a bit more assistance.
“They’re no longer able to work, they were self-employed and they are seeking some assistance. And I know that you will help us with that.”
She said that the government has heard the fishers in the constituency, adding, “We are going to try our best.
“As a matter of fact, I was told that the allowance of fishermen should be released to you in this week of Fisherman’s Day,” Stewart said.
“Mayreau, you have said you need a cold storage facility for your larger catch. I am going to take that to them. I understand they’re trying to help the constituents.
“In Canouan and Union Island, those who are saying, ‘Can we please have some land? Cut up some land; give us some land to build on’, I have heard your cries and I will do my best to get those things answered.”
The Southern Grenadines was severely impacted by Hurricane Beryl, which tracked through the islands as a category 4 cyclone on July 1.
“We want to make sure that the hotels are back up and running to allow tourism to be fully restored. And the festivals, the unique festivals to the islands, are included in the Ministry of Culture’s budget, because they are a part of our culture,” Stewart said.
“So, Southern Grenadines, I have been working. I have been listening. I have been working, and I promise you that I will do the work, I will continue to work. I will fight the fight. It is up to us, Southern Grenadines, to be ready. Mayreau, we need to be ready. Canouan, we need to be ready. Union Island, we need to be ready,” Stewart said.
Chevonne Stewart face looks as though she feels unwell, in the photo above, or the reason could be she had a whiff of Camillo’s Gonsalves’s armpit just before the photographer took the photo.
You’ll have to be some donkey to buy into all this Bull.
Always A bunch of promises, ah boy ppl wake up.
Why is she mocking Catholics and Mother Mary with that T-shirt. The divine light is for HOLY figures. NOT YOU
Nice try Chevonne Stewart- mainland Vincy woman- with your fake Southern Grenadines connection BS crap! You will never succeed; just ask Snaggie- Director of Grenadines Affairs a born and bred Unionite (unlike you) whose family also hails from Canouan. He has been in that position for twenty-five years; he did absolutely nothing to help the people of the Southern Grenadines. If he did do anything, why are you- mainland Vincy woman, now making PROMISES to do the very same things that Snaggie FAILED to do over twenty-five years???? Where were you and the ULP Govt in the last twenty-five years? So now that you want to contest this SG seat, you are in severe labour pains to explain your remote connection to Union island and its people and promising us goodies like Santa Claus. It is so disingenuous of her to pretend that you are connected to the Southern Grenadines. In your very own words, is this what you have to offer the Southern Grenadines people- “….. WE ARE GOING TO TRY OUR BEST; I HAVE HEARD YOUR CRIES AND I WILL DO MY BEST TO GET THOSE THINGS ANSWERED.” After twenty-five years? SO PATHETIC!!
Chevonne is obviously a joker. Her statement “She said she is the daughter of two well-known Grenadines men — Hugh Stewart from Union Island and Gussie De Roche of Canouan.”, tries to cement her as a Unionite/ Grenadines person, however she had to used the first part of her speech at the Union Island Secondary School to “formally introduce myself”, saying that the media had been trying but had been doing “a horrible job”. If she was from there she should not have had to “formally introduce herself”, she would be known in the communities of Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island.
Further to her non-existent presence, she can only recall childhood memories and entering the Easterval pageant. How long ago was this?
Chevonne,
Where were you for the last 24 years of this punishing ULP administration on the Grenadines people with the dollar tax?
Where were you when the people of Canouan were battling Ralph and the developers in Canouan for right of access?
Where when left-hand Lenny destroyed jettys in the Grenadines?
Where were you for the years the jetty in Canouan could not be used and CCA used stones to build one?
Where were you when covid-19 destroyed livelihoods?
Where were you in 2024 when the people suffered a devastating blow by Beryl Category 5 hurricane and had no place to live, eat, go to school and children were and still displaced from their families?
Go back to where you were during those times. T
It baffles me how people especially women , how can they associate themselves with certain characters who was accused of rape and young lady sent to crazy home,? In my opinion , dem ha no moral, integrity, decency, nothing ah all, . It is written, Blessed is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the WICKED. or stand in the way of sinners.
Chevonne, you confusing me!! Are you Chevonne De Roche or Chevonne Stewart? Should we now use your surnames interchangeably?
Mainland Vincy woman Chevonne, you deliberately did not tell the people in Union Island that when you participated in the MISS Easterval Pageant, which was won by Union Island, you entered as MISS ST. VINCENT, the place where you were born and bred, lived, went to school and now work. Why are you now trying to pretend that you have real Union Island/SG connection?
Your childhood memories of you coming to Union Island donkey years ago to shell peas is laughable. Your Union Island grandparents would be rolling in their graves to know that you’ve switched sides and have betrayed them politically.
YOU WILL NEVER BE ONE OF US, PERIOD!
GO BACK WAY YOU COME FROM GAL!!