Government, Civil Society ratify social contract

After five years of ground work, hundreds of hours of meetings and three previous drafts being presented, the final draft of a social contract, which is to be signed between the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Civil Society has been finally ratified.{{more}}

Following a few minor adjustments, the document was unanimously ratified by government, trade union, private sector and civil society representatives present at a special session held at the Methodist Church Hall on Wednesday May 21st.

The committee responsible for the drafting of the document, the National Economic, Social Development Council (NESDEC), was expected to meet today to formalize an implementation plan, which will among other things, seek to set their organization as a separate entity, before approaching the government with the final document.

Council spokesperson Renwick Rose, speaking at the Wednesday’s meeting said that a ratified contract was a step forward, and with the signing of a contract, dialogue and cooperation between government and civil society will be strengthened.

He indicated that a contract does not mean that government will be expected to rubber stamp Civil Society’s ideas or vice versa.

Rose said that the ratification of the contract was long overdue, but would be well worth the wait.

The council is inviting persons to continue to participate in further discussions that would be taking place, leading up to the signing of the contract with Government.(JJ)