West St. George MP, Curtis King is urging constituents to return the Unity Labour Party to a sixth term in office, “leadership is duty to the next generation, not deals for the next election”
King, a retired educator who is seeking a second term in office, said at the ULP rally in Calliaqua that leadership is critical to advancement.
“I want you to pay attention to what you’re getting from both our political parties,” said King, who has ministerial responsibilities for primary and secondary education.
“Listen to what both of them are saying, and look carefully and pay attention at the level of leadership in both parties,” King said, adding that the ULP has “a clear vision” of where it wants to take SVG.
“And you have embraced that vision, and you have walked with us to implement that vision. In other words, the leadership we provide, we see it as duty to you and to the next generation,” he said.
“On the other hand, you have a political party that is making deals — deals with questionable people — because their only vision is to try to win the next election.”
He urged party supporters to stand strong with the ULP “because the future of this country is at stake, and the only how we are going to ensure that we continue on the upward movement of this country is if you stand solidly with the Unity Labour Party.
“And when some want to privatise our health services, we’re not into that. We want to ensure that costs are so low that everyone could get access to our health services.”
He repeatedly said “leadership is duty to the next generation; it is not deals for the next election”.
“And I’m going to repeat that over and over, because I want you to get it in your heads, and I want you to make sure that you double your effort to ensure that those who want to make deals to sell out this country never get a chance to set foot in office.”
The ULP, which came to office in March 2001, is widely expected to face the electorate in general elections next month, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.
King said the electorate knows the journey that the ULP administration has embarked on, adding that it has led to record numbers of students in early childhood, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary institutions.
“I want you to contrast it with those who want to make deals as we approach the next election, because they were there for 17 years, and I’m not going to say they didn’t do anything, but I looking at education, and these people boast about having a surplus every year, they boast about economic growth of an average of 4% but yet still four of every 10 of our children were going on to secondary school.”
King said that less than 2% of students were attending early childhood centres and the community college had about 500 students.
“Well, don’t talk about university. You had to struggle to get there,” he said, adding that today, an ordinary worker in the public service, whether a teacher, police officer or civil servant, can educate their child at university level without taking out a loan.
“And today, our ordinary folks, it’s not just public servants — the fisherman, the farmer, you name them — their children are now graduating from university and coming back and make a contribution to the enhancement of their own lives, as well as their parents.”
He said the NDP criticised the ULP administration’s efforts at universal secondary education, saying that the government was watering down the education system.
“And when we encourage those students who are now doing better to go on to community college, … they said the college not accredited, so nobody going to recognise the qualification.”
King will face a challenge from the opposition New Democratic Party’s Kaschaka Cupid, the deputy comptroller of Inland Revenue, who is making his first political outing.
Baffie man go and eat your food.