PM suffers senior moment at Centre

The pressure of Prime Minister must be having some effect on Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves. He displayed a sense of aging last Tuesday, coincidentally at the opening of the Golden Years Activity Centre at Cane Grove.

Dr. Gonsalves was getting into his address when he referred to Governor-General Sir Charles Antrobus. {{more}}

That was meant to have been Sir Frederick Ballantyne and Lady Ballantyne, who were staring Dr. Gonsalves in his face.

Persons in the crowd, and listeners of the broadcast carried live on radio, must have been shocked by the Prime Minister’s obvious slip. But he corrected himself in stride and went on to make his presentation in his customary brash fashion.

He used the opportunity to highlight aspects of the Unity Labour Party 2001 election manifesto. For him, the manifesto is a “solemn covenant with the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines”.

The Prime Minister skirted the provision of services for elderly persons here and pointed out that the elderly population had risen to 9.8 per cent of the population from the 2001 census compared to 8.9 per cent in 1991.

He projected that in 20 years, 15 per cent of the population would be elderly and he focused his remarks on “security of the aged”. He outlined that older persons were “vulnerable to young punks and vagabonds” and that taking care of the aged was a new area of policing.

Deputy Prime Minister, area representative Louis Straker, also addressed the opening, as well as Social Development Minister Selmon Walters. The programme was tinged with a mixture of culture items including presentations from the NIS staff, and a performance by 2004 Dance Festival champion, La Gracia.