Reclaiming the people’s power

By Kenrick Quashie

In North Windward, the Rabacca Bridge was opened in March 2007. Since then, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has held three general elections, with a fourth now fast approaching. Yet almost two decades later, we continue to hear the same refrain: “Remember the bridge!” Must a single bridge determine North Windward’s votes forever?

Far beyond the Argyle International Airport — our most expensive national project — and far beyond the Rabacca Bridge, two of the most transformative initiatives in our nation’s history that directly benefited the North Windward constituency were implemented by the NDP.

They are:

1. The Land Reform Programme, and
2. Electricity north of the Dry River.

Recently, Jeanie Ollivierre at the NDP’s Thanksgiving Service reminded us that more than 1,000 families received lands from the NDP’s Land Reform Programme. To this day, thousands more continue to benefit from this same land reform programme executed by the NDP government almost four decades ago.

That property your grandmother owned, that land your parents passed down, the farm your family worked for decades — chances are, it began with that very programme. These weren’t “house spots.” Families received acres of land, one-half acre and more. They were large enough to build, plant, and prosper.

It remains one of the most empowering national initiatives ever undertaken: creating jobs, homes, land ownership, and economic independence. It was the truest form of self-reliance: teaching a man to fish, rather than merely giving him a fish.

This programme transformed lives. It gave many Vincentians ownership, dignity, and independence that no handout could replace.

Then came another revolution in North Windward. Electricity above the Dry River.

Every Vincentian over 40 years of age remembers life before it. The entire community north of the Rabacca Dry River lived without electricity while the rest of the country glowed at night. I remember as a little boy, Ran Henry of Georgetown, packing his truck on Sundays with ice to go “over the river” to sell, much the same way as bread-vans sell bread in our communities. Blocks of ice were buried in the sand for days to stay frozen and dug up when a piece was needed.

That was life until the NDP said, “Yes, it can be done.” Previous governments said it was impossible to take electricity north of the river — much the same way as some doubted building a bridge across the river was possible. The NDP showed it was possible and delivered the power. The ULP showed the bridge was possible and delivered the crossing.

So, every time you open your fridge for a cold drink, every time you turn on a fan, a television, or look up at a streetlight in Fancy, Owia, Sandy Bay, Overland, or Orange Hill, remember the NDP made that possible.

These projects were liberating projects designed to empower, not control. Projects implemented by any government should be to empower, not control.

So, if anyone asks you to vote because of a bridge, ask yourself this: What truly benefits you today, the bridge, or the land you own and the light in your home?

We must end this shallow politics where leaders cling to one project and expect lifelong loyalty. Politicians are not lords over you. You are the employer.

Politicians work for you and not the other way around. That’s why they come during the election season, begging for your votes. You hold the power.

While they boast of projects to keep you loyal, ask yourself: Have they ever thanked you for giving them the privilege to serve? For allowing them to earn a pension after nine years, while ordinary Vincentians must work 30 or more to be pensionable?

This psychological game and this narrative that you owe politicians for doing their jobs must end. Your taxes built the bridge. Your hard work built this nation. The power has always belonged to you.

It’s time Vincentians reclaimed that power. The power to demand more than token gestures, more than handouts, and more than recycled promises.

So as another election approaches, remember: You are not indebted to politicians. They are accountable to you.

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