New cabinet could be sworn in on eve of NDP’s 50th anniversary

Prime Minister Godwin Friday says he has decided on most of the members of his cabinet and that the executive is likely to be sworn in on Tuesday.

If the new government is inaugurated on Tuesday, it will take place one day before the 50th anniversary of the launch of the New Democratic Party (NDP), which won Thursday’s general election by a margin of 14-1, after 25 years in opposition.

“I have decided on most of them, but I’m not going to tell you here, but we will do so very soon, informing my colleagues first,” the prime minister told the media on Friday after being sworn in as St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ fifth prime minister since attaining independence from Britain on Oct. 27, 1979.

“Just that you’re always trying to get the right fit. And yesterday told me what I have, all the members that I have to work with,” he said, referring to the results of the election.

“And it’s wonderful to have that broad range of talents available to me now. And it’s only since then, of course, that we can probably say that these are the persons that we have to assign to various roles.”

The prime minister was the only member of the government who was sworn in on Friday, a departure from the tradition in which the attorney general is also sworn in at the same time as the head of government.

“Well, there’s some technical issues that we have to deal with first and in the time frame we had, we could not iron them out, so we will do so with the other ministers next week,” Friday said.

Asked what he meant by “technical issues”, the prime minister said:

“Well, there’s certain things that have to be — you have to make sure — I don’t want to get into detail about it, but the point of the matter is that we sought to basically ensure that we have all of the things lined up properly to make the appointment. And we hoped that we could do it today. We hope that if we can, then we will do it on Tuesday. And we decided that we’ll do it next week.”

He said that in the interim, the emerging administration would be meeting with senior members of the police force and senior members of the government bureaucracy.

Friday said he would also be meeting with his colleagues, adding that they had not had a caucus since the election victory.

“… everybody was busy doing their own thing, and even last night, I couldn’t get some of them because they were out with their fans, their supporters, celebrating, which is natural,” he said, noting that the celebration continued in Kingstown when he returned to the capital from his home in Bequia on Friday afternoon.

“So, we have to meet and decide on how we go forward and essentially embrace the opportunity, while at the same time preparing ourselves for the great challenge that we have to meet.”

Diplomats’ absences not a signal

It was noted that only one member of the diplomatic corps attended the ceremony in which Friday was sworn in as prime minister.

“Well, again, it was very short notice, and the intention is that they will be present at the major ceremony that comes on Tuesday or Wednesday. This will be a more public ceremony,” he said.

“They should read absolutely nothing [into it]. It’s just a matter of logistics. And this ceremony that we will have next week will be for all of the cabinet and myself, swearing in as a member of my portfolios. And it will be a public event. So, a lot more spectacle.”

Neglected areas of SVG need immediate attention

Friday has been representing the Northern Grenadines since March 2001 and has become the second person from Bequia to become the prime minister of SVG.

Asked if this meant anything in particular, the head of government said:

“Well, I’m sure it does. It means that we have another prime minister from Bequia. It’s a part of the geography of the country. We are an archipelago. The people of Bequia and Northern Grenadines are very, very proud of that fact. But at the same time, it’s an integral part of the country, and we all have to basically work together to make this country that is spread out over many islands and lots of seascape work as one.”

The prime minister said he intends to focus on the areas of the country that need immediate attention.

“We have a plan, for example, for the development of the north of the country, which has been neglected for far too long,” he said, referring to North Leeward and North Windward.

“So, we have a special plan in place that we have devised. I’ve talked about this on the campaign trail,” he said.

The prime minister said his team intends to flesh this out more in government and “to proceed systematically to implement it so that that part of the country is no longer left behind.

“There was a time when the Grenadines used to be like that. They called it a hard area. Now, nobody does that anymore because some transformation has taken place there. Similarly, we need to do that in the northern part of the country, and that’s one of the things I’m going to focus on.”

PM ‘reassured’ by massive victory

In securing 14 of the 15 parliamentary seats, the NDP attracted 37,002 votes — 9,854 more than the incumbent Unity Labour Party’s 27,148.

The new prime minister said he did not know if he was surprised by the extent of the victory.

“I am, in a sense, reassured, because I had a sense that there was a movement in the country for change, and that it would be massive, whether it would be 13, 14, or whatever, we could never be sure,” he said.

“But the fact that it is as emphatic as it is, now it’s good for that purpose, in the sense that it shows that people wanted change, they voted to do it. But what it has done as well, it has ensured that we had a smooth transition. Because nobody can argue that when people speak this loudly and clearly as to what their intention is.

“And so, I am so grateful for that opportunity now to be able to go forward knowing that we had had a peaceful transition and we now can go forward as one people building St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”

The late Sir James Mitchell, who was prime minister from July 1984 to October 2000, launched the NDP on Dec. 3, 1975, nine years before it secured its first victory at the polls, winning nine of the then 13 constituencies.