A National approach to Independence

Tomorrow, October, 1, 2025 marks the start of a month of activities to commemorate and celebrate the formal reclamation of our national independence, on October 27, 1979. As we plan and implement these various activities, we can only rue the fact that at the formal reclamation of our national sovereignty, there was an absence of education about the historical journey we had to travel to arrive at that junction. As a result, there was a big hole in our understanding an appreciation of this momentous occasion.

Be that as it may, we have the task of catching up with the tide while continuing to map out our future path. This year the necessary spirit of national unity will be severely challenged and tested by the expectation of general elections before the end of the year.

Political party campaigning is therefore in the forefront of our agenda and if this means eschewing the essence of national unity, so be it, many will say.

Yet there is room for both. Indeed, our political struggles over the years have themselves been both a product of the struggles of our people, and a continuing catalyst for change. There is no fundamental contradiction between celebrating our sovereignty and at the same time making choices about our leadership and vehicle for change. We have room for both, including in our independence celebrations.

Our choice of party does not in any way hinder a robust celebration of such an august occasion. In fact, it is important for our democracy that those in opposition to the administration of Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, not only just participate in the celebrations but also put forward ideas and proposals, and even sponsor and organize events along the theme of national unity and defence of our sovereignty.

It is heartening to hear the Prime Minister not simply continuing to urge support for the renaming of places of national and local interest from the names given by the British colonisers.

In his address at the Prize-giving ceremony for VincyMas 2025 on Saturday, at Victoria Park, he singled out Victoria Park as the first target, a deserved one.

Sounding a little impatient, the Prime Minister urged that the green light for the change be made in time for the independence anniversary date.

One could be forgiven if there seemed to be some confusion the people’s response to the many previous appeals, and this latest appeal from the PM makes it sound as though it is lack of support why such initiatives have not been warmly embraced.

He has given copious lectures on such changes as part of the decolonization process, but to date, no concrete proposal has been put before the people. Ever since the defeat of the proposed new constitution in the referendum of 2009, Prime Minister Gonsalves, while continuing to promote the decolonization process, has been shying away from testing our people’s resolve on the matter. But surely, 16 years on from that unfortunate rejection, Vincentians must be far better educated on such processes. There should be no need to beg for support on the issue.

If we are not clear on such a process, it is an indictment on the success of the government. The Education Revolution is not just academic; it must also involve broader education on public policy. Perhaps the hesitancy resides in the failure to make true democratization part of public policy and implementation.

If there were functional democratic structures at the local level- town and village councils for instance, elected by the people at those levels, we can reasonably conclude that there would be no shortage of concrete suggestions on issues such as changing colonial names. But the government itself seemed to have turned its back on that path; hopefully, the Victoria Park name change is the beginning of a thrust to “get the show on the road” in the words of a former national leader.

The views on both sides of the House of Parliament may not necessarily reflect national opinions on such matters. We, therefore, have to find structures and mechanisms to take them forward.