By Anthony G. Stewart, PhD
At a recent public meeting in Union Island, laziness emerged from Ralph Gonsalves’ speech as a criterion by which the public should evaluate the candidates offering themselves to represent constituents.
Beginning with Gonsalves who is in his 80th year, it is past time that a new candidate should have been selected for North Central Windward. A new prime minister should have already been in place. He has been unable to get a handle on crime and the causes of crime, so a new minister of national security should have already been in place. His laziness is his failure to recognise the need for more competent and able successors to replace him.
Ministers of education Curtis King and Ralph Gonsalves are being called out for laziness because over the past 24 years, the maths CSEC and CPEA results show persistently large failure rates. Additionally, students generally are not reading at their grade levels. Their inability to make library services available in each community is evidence of laziness. Laziness, too, may be responsible for their inability to complete the rebuilding of the Girls’ High School and keeping the schools in good repair.
Carlos James, as minister of tourism, is apparently too lazy to keep our beaches clean. The sargassum weeds have been clogging our beaches for quite some time now. Residents and tourists alike need the beaches for cooling down as often as we could. If some hotels can keep their beach fronts clean, some partnerships can be forged to keep our beaches clean.
The apparent laziness of the Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves results in budgets that are not balanced and unavailability of auditor’s report for the previous financial year.
Minister of National Mobilisation, Senator Keisal Peters is apparently too lazy to curb human trafficking, especially among teenage schoolgirls. The sugar daddies and paedophiles need to be reined in. The number on public assistance needs to be reduced as jobs are found for clients. Laziness drowns out the cries of school children, the elderly and other commuters on minivans. They cannot stand the loud, vulgar music.
Orando Brewster was apparently too lazy to encourage volcano and hurricane refugees to salvage materials to build their own homes. Promising to provide homes for everyone is an impossible task.
Attorney General Grenville Williams is apparently too lazy to ensure that matters move through the legal system in a timely manner.
Grace Walters and St. Clair Prince are apparently too lazy to collect hospital fees from those who have medical insurance and use the services of the hospital.
Carlos Williams is apparently too lazy to invent a job description for Deputy Director of Grenadines Affairs and attempt to do something.
Chevonne Stewart is apparently too lazy to provide a morgue for Union Island and adequate transport for the sick to be evacuated from the Southern Grenadines in a timely and safe manner.
While Darron John might not be lazy, he may not have the time for his constituents because he is otherwise engaged to the love of his life, Bernadine Commissiong and devoted to completing his PhD.
Marvin Fraser has the impossible task of moving his party from the clouds in cyberspace where the old leadership is in goat heaven to the field of play. Is he too lazy to make this tackle?
Luke Browne is returning to run this time as a lawyer. He joins the other lawyers, Ralph Gonsalves, Carlos James, Grenville Williams, Saboto Caesar, and Keisal Peters. This group of workers do not pay their fair share of taxes, according to Gonsalves, and consequently, they disqualify themselves from representing us unless they set the example by publishing their tax returns to prove otherwise. Are they too lazy to prove their integrity in this matter?
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