My support for Conroy

Conroy and I graduated from the Barrouallie Secondary School (BSS) together. We shared the classrooms with many friends from neighbouring Layou, Buccament, and Spring Village.

Those were the days — the time we spent at BSS. The school motto, “Striving Ever Higher”, has stuck with us since. 

While my support for him stems from knowing him and knowing that he will be a great representative for all in Central Leeward, this is also personal.

Personal in the sense that there is an unmistakable pride that all “Bagga people” wear on our sleeves. After all, Barrouallie is regarded as the first de facto capital of SVG, and has a rich culture.

As much as Barrouallie has a rich history and culture, Central Leeward has never elected someone from Barrouallie to serve a five-year term.

Mrs. Valcina Ash is the closest we ever came to having someone from among us serve in the Parliament for 5 years as a representative. The 44-year-old contested the by-election of 1983 for the St. Vincent Labour Party after Arthur “Woodsy” Woods (Home Affairs Minister) died. She had been a senator since 1979, then and contested against then former civil servant Herbie Young for NDP, and “Uncle Metro” for SNM (St. Vincent National Movement). She won by 65 votes. Incidentally, it was reported that over 93% of voters went to the polls, which meant that young first-time voters came out in their numbers. Stalky John replaced her as senator.

It is reported that when Cato presented her to a crowd of 15,000 in Barrouallie, T-shirts in her support bore slogans like “Women Say Ash” and “Ash – We always See Her”.

The next year, 1984, Herbie Young, another Layou man like Woodsy, won the general elections and held the seat until 1994. Louis Straker, also from Layou, held the seat until Maxwell Charles came in 2010. Dunstan Johnson from Barrouallie couldn’t make the cut. We handed it back to Louis Straker before handing it to Brewster, also from Layou. 

Meanwhile, several others from Bagga tried to make it into the Parliament to serve us.

Cyril “Andies” Alexander tried in 1972 for the PPP. Fred Joachim tried in 1974 for MSP. PR Campbell for UPM and Clive Raime for PPP tried in 1979. Mrs. Ash tried again in 1984, after winning the by-election just months prior in 1983. Norrel Hull tried from 1998 to 2010.

Essentially, since Central Leeward became a constituency for the 1972 elections, no one from Barrouallie has been elected to serve it for a five-year term. That is 53 years!

For this reason, the election of Conroy is personal to me, and it should be for all the proud people of Barrouallie, especially the village of Keartons. Conroy’s footprints from childhood are engraved in Kearton’s dirt. They are cemented in Barrouallie’s dirt just like mine. We are sons of our community and very proud of it.

At present, for this 2025 election, Barrouallie, including Keartons, carries 60% of the votes in Central Leeward. Sixty per cent! It might also be worthwhile to note that close to 350 people have died in the constituency since the last election, with close to 200 in Barrouallie and Keartons alone. Now is the time for us to stand and be counted as the proud people that we are. We the people of Barrouallie must put aside our political differences and lead the way in sending our own son and brother to the Parliament, as we may never get another opportunity to do so. Now is the time.

Mind you, we are not voting for him for that reason alone. Conroy comes to us as the best of our best. He has the mettle of honourability. He’s honest. He has humility and valour, and he’s faithful to the cause, guided by righteousness. I know the man. He will leave no one behind. Let’s pull on the strength of our community and make history.

This moment that is upon us is the time for us to stand tall, be counted and be proud; but we cannot do this without the support of our friends from Layou and Buccament. We are all in this together and we need them to help us make history. After all, Layou gave us Herbie Young, who’s arguably the most transformative representative Central Leeward has ever had.

While party alignment played a major part in how we’ve voted in the past, it’s hard to argue against the transformation that Central Leeward underwent during the time of Herbie and the NDP, from 1984 to 1994. I remember the evening when streetlights came on for the first time in areas that the village elders used to say were too dark to traverse safely after 6 p.m. If you were not at your destination by 6 p.m., you had to stay where you were. At least that’s the story they told, as I remember it.

The expansion of electricity changed Central Leeward. The sale of kerosene, batteries, and candles started to decline. The need for electricians increased. The sale of electronic devices (TVs, VCRs, radios, cassette players) took off. TV antennas were in demand. The sale of fridges and deep freezers took off as well, as villagers began to wire their homes for electricity. Barrouallie came alive at night. The sounds of Resurrection band at the Salvatory Hall or some other event at the Community Centre echoed throughout the town on weekends.

Sunday afternoon matinee Kungfu movies for 50 cents were a joy for us to watch, even on a 20-inch “Technicolor” TV.

We used to walk to school on red dirt before Herbie paved a lot of village roads and gutters, and the work was done by local contractors. Many of those village roads are still standing today. I can list more, like the refurbished clinic, the current wharf, and the post office building in Barrouallie. The playing field in Keartons; the hardcourt at old BSS. While these are all structures, lives were transformed. With the expansion of electricity came an expansion in telephone service.

This continued legacy of transformation and real change, and growth is what Conroy has proposed for Central Leeward, so we are not voting for him just because. He has a plan, and I have absolutely no doubt that he will get it done for all.

Here we are in this era, 53 years since Central Leeward became a constituency and we are faced with a historic opportunity. Here we are, with Barrouallie commanding 60% of the votes. Here we are with a historic choice to make. This is a moment for all of us to be proud; proud to elect one of our very own to represent us for five years in the Parliament of our country. I know Conroy. I can swear for him that he will represent all the people of Central Leeward. All!

To the people of Barrouallie, Keartons, and Central Leeward as a whole, let’s make history. Your “X” on election day is between you and God, regardless of whom you jump and wave for now. This is personal. Let’s make history. Let’s send Conroy to parliament.

One love,

Sharma 

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