Hope: Worst Casualty of Ralph Gonsalves Rule

During the rule of Ralph Gonsalves in St. Vincent and Grenadines, the Vincentians lost out on many of their aspirations. Their love for democracy received serious jolts, they found their dignity and self-respect seriously threatened and their right to a better living mercilessly robbed. The people living and working in SVG face compelling problems when they want to live a life according to their wants. Many of them want nothing to do with political colors. Many of them want to remain away from the murky world of politics that Ralph Gonsalves propagates and supports. The network of his political cronies and their clout in the country has practically sealed any chances of progress. There is hardly any change in the conditions. In short, the country got nothing by picking Ralph Gonsalves as their Prime Minister for a second consecutive term.



When you sit down to pen the disasters that have happened in St. Vincent and Grenadines since he took over as Prime Minister, you cannot help but be miffed with Ralph Gonsalves. The country had many things going for it. It’s true that there were problems before he came to power. No country is perfect in that sense. But Vincentians gave him two successive terms to eradicate those problems. The people chose Ralph as the man who can take them forward in the new millennium. They placed their trust on this man for a second time so that he may complete the promise that he had made to SVG. But their hopes were severely dashed when the country went from bad to worse and there was little development work done. The hopes of a new, fresh beginning for SVG slowly started to fade out from the minds of common people.



There was an inherent promise in St. Vincent and Grenadines. As opposed to other countries in the same bracket, for example the other countries in the OESC, SVG had many advantages. Their tourism department was well-developed and got them foreign exchange money. Their economy gained profusely from the tourism department. But Ralph Gonsalves humiliated the country on the global platform. He assaulted a Toronto-based human right lawyer sexually. She had come to interview the Prime Minister. After being silent for five years, she decided to speak out against Comrade Ralph. She got the strength only when she heard about a policewoman standing up to the Prime Minister after being raped. The policewoman was posted at his house for his own security.



Such instances of misdemeanor and continued violations of law and order have made the Vincentians scared of living a life. Everyone with a conscience lives in dread. They cannot protest against a potential dictator and at the same time, the dignity of a Vincentian gets hurt when they have to put up with injustice. Their only way out of this conflicting sense of injured pride is to vote this man out of power. This December the Vincentians have a decision to make. They will surely rise up to the challenge to throw this man out of their political scene.



Authors Bio: Edward Thomson is a qualified professional in the field of Economics. He also loves to travel extensively across the Caribbean.You can also check out his other write-ups and/or links to his views/comments HERE.