Leacock confident Taiwan would support constituency fund

Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock says he is confident that Taiwan will donate the vehicles that he requested for crime-fighting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as support his government’s proposed constituency development fund.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday after returning from an official visit to Taipei, Leacock said that he raised the constituency development fund with the President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te.

“I emphasised the Democratic Party’s Constituency Development Fund and its commitment to the establishment of the Constituency Development Fund and made a very direct appeal for Taiwan to assist us in better representative politics in St. Vincent and the Grenadines through contribution to that constituency development fund.”

Leacock noted that he has been championing the introduction of the fund since 2009.

“We must get a good fit between ministerial politics and representative politics and make sure that our Constitution’s requirement for the existence of constituencies is properly aligned with the financial architecture that is in place. We do not now have such a proper representation.”

Leacock became the first Cabinet member for the New Democratic Party (NDP) government to visit Taiwan since the party took office in November.

He said he visited at Taipei’s invitation and expense.

The other members of the delegation were his wife, Margaret Leacock, Minister of Social Welfare and Community Empowerment, Ecclesiastical Affairs, and National Heritage, Shevern John and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Innovation, Digital Transformation, and Information, Senator Lavern King.

Before leaving for Taipei, Leacock announced that he would ask Taiwan to donate a fleet of vehicles to support the nation’s crime-prevention efforts, including the reintroduction of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education programme in schools.

Asked what became of his request, Leacock told the media that the representation was made to Taiwan’s ambassador in Kingstown, Fiona Fan, even before he left for Taiwan.  

“When I arrived in Taiwan, that was reiterated, and I would not adumbrate at this press conference, the number of vehicles that I asked for, but I expressly asked for assistance with vehicles to assist the police force, the cadet force, and the National Commission on Crime Prevention,” Leacock said.

He said at the press conference that he also asked Taiwan for “other hardware”.

“I have every reason to believe that those will be forthcoming, but it would not be protocol for me to indicate the extent of the contribution that will come from the people of Taiwan,” Leacock said.

He said that similarly, he had had “a dollar figure on what I thought would be necessary to make each of our 15 constituencies functional with respect to their constituency development fund.

“And to the extent that that was favourably considered by the president, it is also very inappropriate for me to indicate how much of that money should be coming here.

Leacock said that, coincidentally, he met the St. Lucian Foreign Minister while his delegation was on its way back to St. Vincent.

“And Taiwan does, in fact, assist Saint Lucia with their constituency development fund directly through their Ministry of Finance. They are not breaking new ground, nor would we be reinventing the wheel,” Leacock said.

“They obviously have placed it within the realm of budget support. Other countries have not done that. That will be left for the Prime Minister and his advisor in the Ministry of Economic Affairs to determine how we would apply those funds for the constituency development fund when eventually Taiwan does approve that because I’m confident about that.”