Ralph Gonsalves and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The Prime Minister of a country is the representative of a country to the outside world. So, he has to take good care of his image both in public and private and should not indulge into activities that can ruin the image of self or of the country. However, the honourable Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who is the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for the past nine years do not seem to be aware of this fact. Probably that is the reason, the Vincentians often find him associated with corruption, nepotism and a number of other things. Added to these things is his questionable behavior, which leaves the witness feeling ashamed of his country.



Over past nine years Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has proved himself to be rude and often ill tempered person. He neither has self respect not respect for the country he represents internationally. He has also showed a very poor attitude towards the law and orders of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and has manipulated the same to his advantage. He has also used the law to silence people who have raised a voice against him or against the faulty policies that he took.



Talking about the faulty policies one can remember a number of government projects under the regime of Ralph Gonsalves that became a complete failure. The prime minister has failed to ensure the viability and profitability of state owned enterprises such as the NCB, National Properties, Food City, GESCO etc. He has failed to ensure the plantation of any other crop when the production of banana came down. During this time marijuana plantation became quite popular and drug trades become a regular thing in the country. However, the government has not taken any measure for this issue. They have not taken any bold step to control the drug dealing and for that reason the country is slowly but gradually becoming more and more dominant in this region. If the government treat such an issue with such casualness then it will soon find that the entire country is engulfed by drug trade and other related crimes.



One must have noticed that the crime rate has gone up in recent times in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The number of murders, rapes and other crimes are increasing day by day. However, neither the police authority nor the government has taken the matter seriously. This way the government has failed to restore peace and safe environment in the country. Ironically, Ralph Gonsalves himself is accused for sexual harassment of more than one woman. If that is the case in the country, how can we blame other criminals?



Ralph Gonsalves is also accused for nepotism. His son was made the ambassador to the United Nations when there were other capable candidates out there



This way, Ralph Gonsalves can be described as a failure as a prime minister who has not been able to make any remarkable development for the country.



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.