Scores of public servants welcomed newly elected Prime Minister Godwin Friday with applause as he arrived on Monday at the Administrative Complex in Kingstown, where the Office of the Prime Minister is located.
Among the public servants waiting to greet the new prime minister was Cabinet Secretary Kattian Barnwell-Scott and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sandy Peters-Phillips
“First day on the job in this building!” Friday told the gathering, which included the media and supporters of his New Democratic Party, which won the Nov. 27 general election, 14-1.
He said he was looking forward to the opportunity to serve, adding that there was “some trepidation because it’s a big job.
“But I am sure that the staff of this office will help to make me more effective from day 1, and we are ready to serve the people,” said Friday, who also won a sixth term in office as MP for the Northern Grenadines.
“It is a commitment I have given, and I intend to deliver on and I expect everybody to play their part. This is a new dispensation. We talk about a new dawn in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and I mean that. So let’s get it done.”
Friday was sworn in as prime minister on Friday, one day after his party’s landslide victory, which saw former prime minister Ralph Gonsalves as the only person from the Unity Labour Party (ULP) to retain a seat.
The ULP held nine of the 15 seats going into the election, while the NDP held the other six.
Fielding questions from the media, the new prime minister said he was ready to implement the promises made during the election campaign.
“And I believe that with goodwill, we will deliver for the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And that is what keeps me going, and I can’t wait to get actually started into it.”
He said that while it was his first day on the job in the building, the work of the government had been taking place on the weekend.
“… weekends have changed, obviously, because this weekend wasn’t my own, but it’s part of the process of getting ready to deliver, to serve the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
He said the learning curve was going to be steep but he has been a good study all his life.
“… so, hopefully, this is no different because I want to get ready to be as effective as possible…
“We need it now more than ever and I am committed more than ever, now that the people have given me this great honour to serve to deliver for them, and that is what my preoccupation is. It’s about delivering for the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Friday said he expected that the public servants will “hold my hands for a little bit, that they are all ready to serve.
“We are all in the service of the people of this country. And, this is something that we have been called to do. We have different expertise, different experience and so forth, but bring them all together, they should create a synergy that delivers for the people of this country, and hopefully we can do so, without much delay…”
He said that when the Cabinet is sworn in on Tuesday, all the ministers would be given their “marching orders as to how we proceed, and they will also have the (permanent secretaries) in the various ministries to assist them as they get up to speed.
“But we intend to … start delivering right away for the people.”
During the campaign, the NDP had said that if voted into office, it will cut VAT from 16 to 13%, pay a bonus salary, increase Public Assistance to EC$500 per month and reinstate public sector worker fired under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate within 60 days of coming to office.
Friday said his government is committed to those promises.
“We say within 60 days. If we can do them sooner, we will, but that’s the time frame that, reasonably, we think we can implement those things.”
The new prime minister said that public sector workers should not be afraid that they would lose their jobs.
“… they are the backbone of any administration, and I rely on them to make sure that we have a good function in public service,” he said.
“People will have the opportunity to do their job without ministers or me looking over their shoulder every minute of the day.
“If you have a jurisdiction to make decisions, you make those decisions, and once you are exercising your function in a way that is consistent with your mandate, your jurisdiction, just make your best judgment. You don’t have to always get political approval,” the prime minister said.
“If you have a jurisdiction to make decisions, you make those decisions, and once you are exercising your function in a way that is consistent with your mandate, your jurisdiction, just make your best judgment. You don’t have to always get political approval,” the prime minister said.
I personally believe that this is a positive. the best way forward, let the people do their work without fear or doubt, if there’s an issue, seek assistance and advice, however, many of our people in administration have become cognitively stagnant, other never learned, therefore we have to be patient, honest, understanding and humble.
If you don’t know, say to your superior, “help me with this”.
It’s going to take time but we can succeed as a team.