By *Jomo Sanga Thomas
(“Plain Talk” Nov. 28, 2025)
On the day when Vincentians in the American Diaspora celebrated Thanksgiving, Vincentians at home served up deliverance from 24 years of PM Gonsalves’ suffocating rule, a deliverance that supporters and opponents of the New Democratic Party will long remember. Only Gonsalves stood in the way of the NDP replicating its devastating 1989 triumph when it won all of the 15 seats in the House of Assembly. Thursday’s humiliation constitutes an ignominious end to a man who offered so much promise only to flatter to deceive.
Saboto Caesar and Camillo Gonsalves, who the aging prime minister from as early as 2013 touted as the next generation of ULP leaders, never got the chance to prove themselves worthy. Camillo lost in every polling station and Saboto did not fare much better. In a nasty attempt to prevent anyone but son Camillo to emerge as leader, Gonsalves employed the “Samson option”, thus bringing the ULP house down on itself. He marooned Saboto in the agriculture ministry and never truly embraced Luke Browne, whom he feared would form a formidable tag team with his brother-in-law, Saboto, and control and dominate the party’s future direction.
It is always a difficult task for a party to win a third term, much more a 6th, but many of the actions that sorely exposed the ULP’s weaknesses on Thursday were unforced errors. They, especially Gonsalves, became lords rather than servants of the people. The evil vaccine mandate, which the ULP-dominated election panel tried to paper over Thursday night was a wake-up call to many Vincentians who still thought that Gonsalves was a force for good.
The usually well-informed and analytical Peter Wickham compounded the errors he made on WE FM’s “Issue at Hand” a few weeks ago by claiming that Vincentians had the option to be exempted from the vaccine for medical and religious reasons. Even more shocking was that none of the panellists who knew better sought to correct him. They well knew that protestations by citizens who had genuine medical and religious reasons not to take the untested, unreliable and unsafe injection were lampooned and rejected by ULP leaders, government-appointed doctors and religious czars.
They thought they were confronting 271 public employees who took the government to court. Instead, there is an abundance of anecdotal evidence to support the claim that the overwhelming rejection on Thursday was from a people who along with all the other horrors of daily life responded in anger to the misrulers who compelled them to take the jab to save their jobs only for them to wallow in pain and sorrow as loved ones, friends and colleagues, in the prime of their lives dropped dead, developed all manner of ailments and adverse events hitherto rare or unknown to SVG.
It was nauseating listening to an election panel that never gave voice to the other reasons for the ULP’s implosion, such as the high unemployment and crime rate, the persistent poverty which trapped four out of every 10 Vincentians while Gonsalves’ family and its big shot friends lived luxuriously, the evident official corruption pervading our society and the splendid campaign ran by the opposition.
Worse, they could not bring themselves to congratulate Dr. Friday on his success. They spent close to 10 minutes talking about St. Clair Leacock’s leadership qualities before, grudgingly, as if as an afterthought, mentioning the man who led his party to a stunning victory.
Whereas Gonsalves traded in fearmongering and anti-communism (strange for a party that claims to be progressive and anti-imperialist), and all-out bribery in the vain attempt to woo voters, the NDP, armed with superior messaging, financing and narrative, offered hope and substance, which Gonsalves and his coterie, to their chagrin, derisively labelled “gimmicks”.
This was an out-of-touch bunch, smacked into reality by voters chanting “Enough is enough!”
There is no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Vincentians, at home and in the diaspora, are breathing easier today. Even some who voted for the ULP out of habit and fear, or because of questions about a party mired in opposition for a quarter of a century, may conclude that the country needed to be liberated from Gonsalves.
To the NDP supporters, especially those who stayed with your party in its darkest hours, wallow in your good fortunes. However, don’t ever fall victim to the creed “my party, right or wrong” as ULP supporters did. To the party leadership, especially Dr. Friday, who was subjected to months of being called weak and lazy, soak up your victory with the foresight that now comes the hard part.
The ULP leadership and spin doctors would gloat in defeat, “We had a good long run.” Supporters, especially the poor, unemployed, low-income and vulnerable, do not buy into the nonsense. Gonsalves’ family and their policy clique had a good run. His run was so good that in 2018, they were able to secure three luxury apartments in Trinidad valued at over TT$5 million. Imagine what they have accumulated since. At EC$1,000 per month, Gonsalves’ brother-in-law’s telephone allowance was more than the monthly income of a large swath of Vincentian workers. All workers, ULP, NDP or no P, must learn this lesson and not be tricked by politicians who demand party loyalty over your economic survival and self-interest. Learn to speak truth to the powerful.
NDP, it’s your time to deliver. You can begin immediately by teaching Gonsalves and his defeated clan’s men a lesson in good governance and democratic best practice: remove all of your election billboards by Monday morning. Provide real meaning to the call; we are all in this together. We have a country to build.
There was a lot of talk of square pegs in round holes. Jobs and other vital positions should be offered and filled on the basis of merit. Free up the civil service to do its job. Give our police force the tools to protect and serve. I can hear Oscar Allen’s wise words:
The people are watching. In the same way in which they rejected Gonsalves’ call to lift him up and instead elevated you to the corridors of power, draw this critical lesson: never ever underestimate or disregard the power of the people.
*Jomo Sanga Thomas is a lawyer, journalist, social commentator and a former Speaker of the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The opinions presented in this content belong to the author and may not necessarily reflect the perspectives or editorial stance of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected].
Great and good warnings Jomo, but you must and should realize that the cupboard is probably empty. NDP has to repay all those loans Ralph took.
Friday has to invest in agriculture and fishery to get SVG working again.
Saboto had a plan to get the youths into agriculture, but it never showed its face. There was no money and no love!
Correct me if I am wrong: It was rumored that Straker examined the map of SVG and lay claim to parcels of lands that belong to dead and living Vincentians. NDP should take a closer look at these parcels of land and ensure the owners get them back. He also must get rid of squatters who were encouraged to occupy lands that don’t belong to them. IWN did a story on Short Cut in Layou where he found many squatters on Robertson’s land.
Then for those lands in the mountain side: NDP should help the youths to lease these lands and give them the tools to start planting products that can be shipped from the new port in Kingstown. I haven’t seen any data explaining what will be imported and exported to help the economy grow.
The new African bank in the Caribbean must and should be utilized to help businesses and entrepreneurs. The Caribbean (CARICOM) nations should start exploring trading with African countries. All governments can arrange businesses and those entrepreneurs to visit some peaceful African nations to see what they have to offer. I’d like to go further and say they can also visit Taiwan, China and India, but that’s probably another story for another time.
CARICOM should take this opportunity to open trade with Canada. The US is not ready to do business in the Caribbean. It’s after the oil between Venezuela and Guyana. These two countries must get together to discuss the problem between them.
I have close here because I don’t want to put to or so many ideas on the table that folks are unable to follow and choose the best ones.
Great articule.
Well said 👏
Jomo, it seems you had the last laugh. Let us hear what C. Ben David has to say now
With much delectation and satisfaction,I say congratulations to the Honorable Prime Minister,the NDP slate and the nation of the blessed Isles,St.Vincent and the Grenadines. As a nation, like the sons of Issachar, you have proven and consistent with your understanding demonstrated that, you are fully cognizant of the times. You are not a people bewitched by Cassandra’s curse.
King David, the best monarch of human history, gave to Solomon the best advice that can be given to any ruler over men. “He who rules over men must fear God” The prophet Jeremiah tells us why. He said,”it is not in man to direct his steps aright”. The sovereign God still rules in the affairs of nation.If you forsake Him, He will forsake you. I will ask Dr. Friday and his government, please not to forget the aforementioned counsel. I ask that as a nation, we pray for our leaders and as our anthem says, what ere our future brings,our faith will see us through. If as a people,we lean on our faith,it will carry us through, but if we dont,we will have to carry our fate. A good leader listens to his people. Our fathers taught us that, when a child is crying and points in a certain direction, a loving, caring parent would give attention and investigate, and a good leader do likewise with his people. Again, I would like to sound a note of counsel to the NDP leaders. No matter how high we rise, we must never forget the ground that raised us. For our African fathers have taught us again, to remember that, no matter how high the bird rises, its belly is always facing the ground. Some have learnt that when they were forced to cry, lift me up, please.
My fellow Vincentians, please take note. A leader who loves his country, knows when and how to exit gracefully. A good statesman always wants and wishes the leaders of his nation after him to succeed. Because he wants to see them build on what he has left behind, that is if he has left them anything good to build on. To Dr. Friday. We need election reform in laws. There is need for term limit on how many terms a man can hold the office of Prime Minister. Also, we need to get rid of the remnants of colonialism. The Governor General office is of no effective purpose or use to the country. Funds to maintain that office can be put to better use. Please begin the process to end it. We must make it illegal for any person/s campaigning for government’s office to incentivize anybody to vote in their favor. The bribing must stop. Unthinking, selfish desires sell out the future and welfare of the country for morsels. Thank you St.Vincent for conducting a violence free election,that’s how people who understand the times behave. God bless SVG AND OUR FAITH WILL SEE US THROUGH ON THIS VOYAGE.
A one-term NDP government for sure based on an inability to make any headway on issues like jobs, road repair, crime, and much more.
LOL!