Longer wait for more national heroes

Vincentians will have to wait a little longer to find out who are the persons who will join Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer as our National Heroes.

During his Independence address at Victoria Park last October, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said he had requested of René Baptiste, chair of the National Heroes Advisory Committee, the committee’s final report, so that the requisite legal processes could be finalized for the appointment of other national heroes before or on National Heroes’ Day, March 14, 2018.

However, Gonsalves told SEARCHLIGHT yesterday that no announcement of new national heroes will be made next week, as he had not yet received the report.

When contacted, Baptiste said that the Prime Minister had been given an executive summary, which indicated what the committee’s recommendations were, but he asked for a full report which he will receive today, Friday, March 9.

“We had to put together the different submissions that came and the committee might be a big committee, but it only has two people,” said Baptiste, who noted that she was not at liberty to disclose who are the persons recommended by the committee.

Captain Hugh Mulzac, Elma Francois, George McIntosh, Ebenezer T Joshua, Robert Milton Cato, and Dr JP Eustace are among the names who have been suggested since the committee was set up about six years ago.

Baptiste stated that the committee chose four names from a long list, but the decision as to who will be appointed as a national hero is up to the Prime Minister.

Chatoyer was appointed to the Order of National Hero in 2002 and to date, is the only person to have been so honoured.

To be eligible to be named a national hero of this country, a person must be born in SVG, or at the time of his or her death, be a citizen of SVG or entitled to be a citizen of SVG. Persons considered for the order should also satisfy one of three criteria. First, the person should have given outstanding service to SVG and his or her contribution should have altered positively the course of the history of SVG. Second, the person should have given service to SVG, which has been exemplified by visionary and pioneering leadership, extraordinary achievement and the attainment of the highest excellence which has redounded to the honour of SVG, or third, the person should have, through heroic exploits and sacrifices, contributed to the improvement of the economic, social and political conditions of SVG generally. The person must also be dead.