Arnhim Eustace- The Right Choice

With the Election Day at Saint Vincent and the Grenadines knocking at the door, you should look carefully at the achievements of both ULP and NDP- the opposition party. This will help you form an opinion and to cast your vote. Over his nine years regime, the current prime minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves has proven himself as a complete failure and has not done anything remarkably significant for the development of this country and in many cases have let the country down. Arnhim Eustace, the opposition party leader on the other hand looks promising. Let us take a look at his achievements and traits to find out whether he is ready to lead Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for the next term.

If you listen to his critics, you will get the impression that he has no capacity to lead even his party, far less the country. But he, that’s what every critic say about a politician right? They say that he lacks the class, the charisma to guide St. Vincent and the Grenadines through the unrest and uncertainty ahead. But that is not the case. Eustace has been a successful person in his foray and he has successfully run the operations of a development bank and was offered the post of Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations. Of course if this person lacked vision he would not have been suitable for such important positions.

Eustace has become this country’s youngest serving permanent secretary - how was he able to achieve this. He was elected president of the Civil Service Association now the Public Service Union. He has also emerged as the third highest ranking officer at the Caribbean Development Bank. He has turned down an appointment as Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations

He has won a parliamentary seat in East Kingstown on three successive occasions even as a political novice as the tide turns against his party. From that he has rebuild his party the NDP after it was expelled from office. He was elected unopposed to the presidency of the NDP on a number of occasions since 2001.

Mr. Eustace has led the defeat of the ULP in a national referendum to change the constitution of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He has also banned Ralph Gonsalves from calling elections in 17 seats instead of the present 15. Eustace has announced the prorogation of parliament and the date for the December 13 elections over 24 hours before the prime minister.

Authors Bio: Samuel Parker is a working professional who has a special interest in Caribbean and its surrounding nature.You can also check out his other write-ups and/or links to his views/comments HERE.