Government incompetent and indifferent says Dr Friday

People living in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) have had social and economic hardships thrust upon them, but many of the issues are also made by our hands and compounded by governmental indifference, neglect and downright incompetence. That was the conclusion of Opposition Leader, Dr Godwin Friday as he responded to the 2025 National Budget.

“Our country has been through a lot in recent times, we have had natural disasters, and those have been compounded by many man-made errors, a lot of them stemming from the government,” Friday said in Parliament on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, to applause from members on his side of the House.

The Opposition Leader, delivering his response to the Government’s $1.85 billion 2025 Budget, noted that the devastating impact of Hurricane Beryl is the country’s most recent tragedy as lives and livelihoods were lost on July 1, last year.

He said that when the Opposition tries to hold the government accountable, they are not doing this to be negative, but they are carrying a part of the role that’s been entrusted to them.

The Northern Grenadines Member of Parliament said the 2025 Budget, like others before, was unrealistic, and shows the government cannot be trusted to keep its word.

“So, from time to time, we commend the government for things done well, and there are couple of instances that I may mention…the object of course- it’s not to embarrass the government, it’s not to call them out, but it’s to hold them accountable, to ensure that we can push the institutions of government, the persons who occupy those seats of government, that we can push them to do better for the people of this country,” Friday said.

He added that the Budget is not a game or sport.

“This is serious business, especially in this particular exercise…where we are here to represent the best interest of our people.”

He referred to the period when Arnhim Eustace, was leader of the opposition,noting that “…since then we’ve had a really very difficult task of trying to get this government to respond constructively to what we point out to them”.

“They have been stubborn and pig headed in their approach, believing, or giving the impression that they alone are the only fountain of wisdom, not just in this Parliament, but on the planet,” Dr. Friday told members in the Parliament.

The Opposition Leader said that the Government has lost touch with the issues, and as a result their actions have been ineffectual, and the result is the country is literally falling apart.

“It is evident in the most obvious things like the infrastructure, never mind the bragging…they on the other side. After so many years in office, they have allowed themselves to become trapped, if you like, in a bubble of their own making.”

Friday said the 2025 Budget, is bigger than any before, but that is a consistent theme of this government.

“Every year is a bigger budget. So, this is bigger than ever before. Somebody asked me yesterday and Sunday, why they do it, why they feel that it has to be bigger and bigger and bigger every year.

“And to be honest, I couldn’t come up with a sensible explanation other than to say, ‘well, they probably feel that in the people’s consciousness it means that the country is moving forward’….” The Opposition Leader pointed out, however, that there is no forward movement as he hears the various complaints about economic hardship everywhere he goes.