Opposition Leader Godwin Friday says his New Democratic Party will double Public Assistance, reduce the 16% VAT on everyday goods and residential electricity, pay a bonus salary to public servants and reinstate public sector workers fired under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate within 60 days if elected to office.
“The New Democratic Party is launching a series of proposals spelling out not only what we are planning to do, but when we aim to do it,” the opposition leader said on Wednesday.
“That is, within 60 days of a New Democratic Party government, we will deliver real progress for everyone in this country,” he said at a press conference in Kingstown.
He said the NDP is attaching timelines to its commitments because it believes in delivery and accountability.
“You heard me talk about accountability before, in the context of this present government,” Friday said, adding that an NDP government will ensure mechanisms are in place for the people to hold it accountable.
“This present government has failed on that.”
Friday outlined the commitments as the campaign for the next general election is expected to move into high gear this month.
The polls are widely expected by November, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.
“This election, the upcoming general elections, we’re going to have many grand promises from the ULP. They’ve done it in the past, but what we have noted about them is that most of these promises were not fulfilled,” the opposition leader said.
“The NDP will tell it like it is, setting out what we’re going to do and when we will do it,” he said.
Friday said the election will be about what will be delivered to the people and who delivers it.
The vote is also about who has a plan for the development of the economy and who can be trusted to deliver that plan.
“As we ramp up to the election, there will be a lot of noise and fanfare, so I want to take a moment now to make my personal pledge and to state, or I should say, restate, before the noise gets too loud, the NDP’s commitment to the voters.”
Friday, who has been representing the Northern Grenadines since 2001 and who became opposition leader in 2017, said the people know that he does not make “ idle promises nor do I seek to take advantage of people by misleading them. I tell it like it is”.
He said the NDP will place the economy at the centre of everything it does.
“This is because we understand that we must have robust economic growth to deliver more and better-paid jobs as we have promised, to tackle the high cost of living, to create opportunities for young people, to invest in reliable health care and to rebuild and expand the roads and infrastructure in the country.”
‘Real and practical’ initiatives
He presented a pledge card with his photo on one side and the four pledges that the NDP intends to keep within 60 days of taking office.
“These are things that are real and practical,” Friday said.
“So we are pledging to immediately make people’s lives better within 60 days of being elected. An NDP government will do the following:
“One, slash prices by cutting VAT on everyday goods and on residential electricity, your VINLEC bill; two, we will provide salary bonuses to all public servants. This is to help to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. And, three, double Poor Relief from $250 to $500. Who can make ends meet and $250?” Friday said.
The NDP had promised since 2020 to reduce the VAT from 16% to 13% if elected to office.
Friday said the fourth pledge is to reinstate jobs and benefits lost under the Unity Labour Party (ULP) government’s “draconian vaccine mandate”.
Hundreds of public sector workers lost their jobs in November 2021 when the government passed a law mandating that they either take a COVID-19 jab or be deemed to have abandoned their jobs.
‘practical measures’ as high prices ‘crushing many families’
Friday noted that the NDP intends to act on those four things within 60 days, adding, “This is not the whole five-year term of an NDP government.
“So these are practical measures, immediate measures, that will bring relief and a greater sense of prosperity to our people.
“We have to tackle the high cost of living. Too many families are being increasingly crushed and crippled under the yoke of ever-increasing prices.”
The opposition leader said he does his own shopping and has seen how prices have increased.
“So I experience it on a daily basis, and the government has done nothing to address it.”
To illustrate, he said that the price of bananas has increased from EC$1.43 a pound in 2020 to $2.58 by June 2025, an 80% increase.
“People will tell you that now it’s $1 for a banana today,” he said, adding that this is a basic item.
A dozen eggs increased from EC$9.28 in 2020 to EC$13.37 today, a 40% increase.
“Toothpaste, which we all have to use, 130 grams has gone from $9.60 in December 2020 to $15.40 today, it’s a 60% increase.”
He said that chicken leg quarters, a very common form of protein for most people in this country, have gone from EC$2.63 a pound in December 2020 to EC$3.95 in 2025, a 50% increase.
At the same time, a pound of flour has gone up from EC$1.35 in December 2020 to EC$1.88 in June of 2025, rising 39.3% increase.
A pound of rice has gone from EC$1.85 in December 2020 to EC$2.33 in June 2025, a 25% increase.
“I’m talking about staples here; ordinary folk have to buy these things. I ain’t talking about cream cheese and fancy items,” Friday said, adding, “And as you know, the cost of utilities has also gone up.
“This is crushing many families throughout St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And everywhere I go, it is the number one thing on people’s list of things they want to see government to help them with.”
He said the ULP government has failed completely to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
“We in the NDP have proposed ideas such as support payments in school and the cutting of VAT to help struggling families, but the government simply has not been listening, as they live in a bubble, they’re not experiencing what ordinary folk, ordinary people in this country are experiencing.”
Friday said he would begin distributing the pledge cards to people, starting in Kingstown.
The opposition leader acknowledged that people would ask how the pledges would be financed.
“We have said that first of all, we have to grow the economy. When you do that, you get taxes, you get more revenue that’s coming into government coffers. The two things go hand in hand,” Friday said.
He noted that the NDP has said that it will establish a well-regulated citizenship by investment programme.
“It will also generate tax-free and interest-free, loan-free revenue to the government to implement these programmes,” the opposition leader said.
“Importantly, as well, we will tackle waste and increase efficiency in government services and the delivery of government projects and return those savings to finance growth and development.”
He noted that the NDP will focus on four pillars of the economy, namely agriculture, tourism, the blue economy and a new economy.