Shallow pledges ‘on my mother’s grave’ to transform Spring Village  

The opposition New Democratic Party’s (NDP) candidate for North Leeward, Kishore Shallow, has pledged “on my mother’s grave” to address the issues affecting the constituency.

The NDP returned to the campaign trail on Thursday, two days after Vincymas, with a village meeting in Spring Village, with Shallow saying it was the official start of the countdown to the general elections.

Vincentians are expected to elect a new government by November, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.

Shallow, who is also president of Cricket West Indies, is making his first innings in politics and is hoping to bowl out the ruling Unity Labour Party’s Carlos James, who was declared MP for North Leeward by one vote after a contentious recount in the 2020 polls.  

“… the harsh reality in this community of Spring Village is that we have been neglected as a people,” he said, adding that this was evidenced on the very field on which the meeting was taking place.

“Look at the state of it. When we came, we had to position for the little grass we had. We couldn’t use the whole place because all in the middle is mud,” Shallow said.

“What about the children in Spring Village who want to play sports? The poor little fellows can’t even kick a ball on this playing field.”

He noted that calypsonian Zion I, who sang at the meeting, had spoken about the horrible state of the restroom at the playing field.

“The agriculture house up the road …, look at the state of that thing. Run down, totally,” Shallow said.

“And I am ashamed to say this next one: the police station … I mean, that is wickedness,” Shallow said, noting that police officers were at the meeting to ensure the safety of the people there.

“And officers, I guarantee you that when the New Democratic Party is elected, come later this year, we are going to look after your well-being, because we know that you’re hard-working and you look after us and keep us safe,” he said.

Shallow further highlighted the dilapidated state of other facilities, including a banana packing shed and the community centre, as well as a section of the road in Cumberland that had collapsed amidst the warning of the former MP, Roland “Patel” Matthews, also of the NDP.

Shallow told residents of Spring Village that as a little boy, he used to visit their community on Sunday with his mother.

“I remember coming by my granny up the road here… And we used to be in Spring Village on Sundays, and I used to look forward to that, and I saw then, a vibrant community; nothing compared to now,” Shallow said.

“And tonight, I stand here and I pledge on my mother’s grave that when we are elected, we are going to transform this community into what it really should be.

“We are going to do that because we have to ensure that the people of Spring Village get what they deserve, proper representation.”

NDP the better team

Shallow said that even before he joined the NDP’s team of candidates, the party had been working hard to prepare for government.

“And there are some people on the gravy train who would come and tell you all kind of foolishness. They would say, we not ready yet — misrepresenting the facts,” Shallow said.

“But people, I am putting it to you, look at the two political parties, and you could clearly see the more competent one.”

He said one of them was a party that is “led and governed by one man dictating how the state should go; a one-man show.

“… And look at the New Democratic Party. You’re talking about an esteemed, polished political leader who, right across the entire Caribbean and beyond, has the respect of all.

“Never heard his name in any scandal. Not one day have you ever heard Dr. Friday’s name in any scandal. And with him, you have a group of professionals, not only in terms of qualifications, but in terms of experience,” Shallow said.

“So, look at the two teams and you will see clearly that they have a team versus one man, and that is what is really come down to. And nobody in the world, no sober-minded individual, will tell you that any one person could transform or shape the policy or the future of any country,” Shallow said.

“It can never happen. And we have to move away from that.”

NDP won argument on CBI

He said the policies of the NDP are well-documented, including the focus on the new economy, transforming tourism, agriculture, the blue economy and the new economy.

He, however, said there was a particular NDP policy “that for years, the tired fella, the dictator has totally tried to bamboozle people and misrepresent the facts about the CBI (citizenship by investment), trying to get people the impression, misrepresenting the facts that CBI is just about selling passports.

“And we came and we argued against that, and we debated it publicly, and we won that debate. Now, I am happy that the Vincentians understand what the CBI programme will do to help us transform our country.

“Not in isolation of the other countries in the region, but similar to St. Kitts and Nevis, similar to Grenada, similar to Dominica, similar to St. Lucia, we are going to adapt the CBI to help generate revenue so that we can diversify our sectors and our industries to make your life better. And that is the plan going forward that the CDI programme is going to be implemented by this New Democratic Party, when we’re in government, for the betterment of our country.”