The Leadership and Legacy of the Rt. Honourable Robert Milton Cato

By R. T. Luke V. Browne
lukebrowne@yahoo.com

Earlier this week on Monday, I had the opportunity to deliver a public lecture at Frenches House in commemoration of the 28th anniversary of the death of the distinguished Father of our Nation the Rt. Honourable Robert Milton Cato.

I relished this chance to share my views on a man for whom I have tremendous admiration and affection.

Prior to the lecture, the only thing that most people in my generation or younger generations probably knew about him was the fact that he was our first Prime minister and that our main hospital in Kingstown was named in his honour. I was happy to be part of an initiative that served to expand public knowledge about a great leader who helped to shape St. Vincent and the Grenadines into the modern 21st century nation that it is today. Milton Cato is the only political leader of this country who has the distinction of serving in all three capacities of Chief Minister, Premier and Prime Minister.

He was the elected representative of East St. George for 23 unbroken years, from 1961 up to his retirement from active politics after the 1984 general elections. He won seven elections in that constituency. Mr. Cato had three stints in government from 1967 to 1972, 1974 to 1979 and 1979 to 1984. He left a powerful legacy.

National Liberator

I consider Mr. Cato to be a National Liberator in the true sense of the word. According to Former President of Guyana, Cheddi Jagan, national liberation has three components – Political Independence, Economic Emancipation and Social Justice.

Political Independence

I think that Mr. Cato’s credentials with respect to Political Independence are far beyond dispute. He led our nation into both Statehood in 1969 and Independence 10 years later in 1979. He delivered to us a
Constitution that set out the following national principles – democracy, free institutions, social justice and equality before the law. He was true in letter and spirit to the name of his political party – the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Labour Party. This name signals a focus on what is best for our country as distinct from any other country be it the other country or imperialist powers, and on the interests of a disadvantaged section of our population. This focus was reflected in the priorities of the government and public policy.

Economic Emancipation

In terms of Economic Emancipation, I have to say that Milton Cato did a remarkable job of transforming the deeply colonial economy he inherited to a modern economy. He broke the clutches of foreign ownership of strategic economic sectors and the stranglehold the local elite had on the economy and public policy. Mr. Cato built an inclusive economy with an appropriate degree of local, private and public sector ownership.

The first privately-owned indigenous insurance company Metrocint was set up on 31st December, 1968 during the life of a Cato regime. Milton Cato established the National Commercial Bank, VINLEC, by acquisition of shares, and the CWSA.

I consider Milton Cato to be an Industrialist Prime Minister. He created the Campden Park Industrial Estate as a business district and industrialised the country. The Eastern Caribbean Group of companies began operations here on 11th December, 1977 when Milton Cato was in power.

Today, the Industrial Estate is home to the rice and flour mill, the brewery, a galvanise factory, a window factory, a company that manufactures plastic products, a company that manufactures boxes and toilet paper, a bakery and many other establishments. This Estate diversified our economic base and was a driving force for economic growth.

I would also like to indicate that Milton Cato re-opened a Sugar Factory and Rum Distillery in Georgetown to prevent economic hardship and stagnation in rural areas and set up the Diamond Dairy. These facts tell a story of superb economic insight and management.

Social Justice

Milton Cato served the purposes of social justice in education, healthcare and other areas. In the 60-year period between 1911 and 1971, the government did not build a single secondary school in this country. By contrast, Milton Cato built about 6 secondary schools during his time in office including the Barrouallie Secondary School, the Adelphi Secondary School, the North Union Secondary School and the Carapan Secondary School over the course of a few years. This dramatic increase in the secondary school plant improved access to education in fundamental ways and was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Mr. Cato did for education in this country.

In the realm of health, he built the hospital in Georgetown and several clinics throughout the country. He worked on land reform, housing, access to capital and access to jobs.

Criticisms

Overall, Milton Cato had an excellent record in government. However, I am not suggesting that he was infallible or above reproach. No one is above reproach. I am not saying that he was a saint and made no political mistakes. If he was a saint, he probably would not have been a politician.
I think that his two most serious political errors were associated with the introduction to Parliament of draft legislation which had implications for industrial action and fundamental rights in 1981, and the implementation of a 3% gross turnover tax in 1982. He antagonised both the Unions and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in successive years. I do not think that this was a good formula for re-election to office.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, I believe that Milton Cato in the language of the National Heroes Act “contributed to the improvement of the economic, social and political conditions of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Vincentians generally.”

He was a National Liberator. He is the Father of Our Nation. He was an Industrialist Prime Minister. He was the quiet leader of an Education Revolution. He was a Champion of Social Justice. He is a tribute to our nation.

We celebrate the leadership and legacy of the Rt. Honourable Robert Milton Cato.