The Economic Crumbling through Ralph Gonsalves

The dwindling of the economic situation during the reign of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is probably the most notable downslide for St. Vincent and Grenadines. One may argue that the economy was never prosperous so to speak. But it was doing fine for itself before Comrade Ralph came along. He tore down the mast of the economy, tourism, and let it wander like a rudderless ship in the sea. The downfall of the tourism department hit where it hurt most. The country ran dry of foreign exchange, something that saw them through tough times in the past. Whenever journalists and media personnel quizzed Ralph about this, he had evasive and often offensive answers to give off. He’s a master player when it comes to pass-the-buck. He has specialized in the art of shifting the blame from one person to another.



When Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is asked about the sad economic state of SVG, he blames the post 9-11 condition that hit tremors across the world’s economic waters. He has some valid logic there – we’re still reeling under the throes of the recession. But Comrade Ralph cannot put the entire blame on this foreign incident and deny that he had any fault. Other countries in the OECS front have done exceedingly well and recovered from the economic slump. On the other hand, St. Vincent and Grenadines continue to use that excuse to ward off protesting voices in the country and abroad. He is often asked by non-resident Vincentians about this and he generally has no clear answer. At best, he blames the previous governments and obscure scams that took place decades back!



For once, we give it to the favor of Ralph Gonsalves that he got a badly injured country to lead in 2001. But he did get 9 years to repair the damages! He was elected twice as Prime Minister. He got ample time to kick start reform movements and see them to fruition. Did he do that? No! Instead he chose to play dirty little political games to manipulate people and take almost dictatorial control of St. Vincent and Grenadines. He ignored protests within the country and outside. The courts of the country are merely theaters where people opposing Ralph Gonsalves never get justice. He can get away with rape and sexual assault as a Mafia lord would. In fact, to many Vincentians, it does happen to be the Mafia rule in SVG.



The economic blunders committed by Ralph Gonsalves need to be fixed immediately. The world economy is surging past and if the Vincentians are not ready to face up to the task, they might find themselves falling by the wayside. If you conduct a survey through SVG, you will know that the people here are not willing to be considered among the backwaters anymore. They want to usher is some changes that puts them back on the world map as a tourist destination and a growing economy. They need a leader and a visionary. This December they will make their choice!



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.