No increase of constituencies, says SVG Green Party

The SVG Green Party is calling on Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves to produce a cost-benefit analysis to justify an increase in constituencies from 15 to 17{{more}}

“Having examined the 15 constituency voters list, it is clear that there is no sensible reason for increasing the number of constituencies from 15 to 17, especially in the current economic climate and with the SVG economy in such a weak state,” a release from the Green Party said.

“On the contrary, increasing the number of constituencies would only impact negatively on SVG’s financial resources. Over a five year period it would cost the SVG Treasury over $920,000. This money could be put to better use by providing $10,000 grants or loans to 920 businesses in SVG. This would help the economy by creating and supporting businesses, and hence create thousands of jobs,” the release said.

“This idea alone clearly illustrates the difference between the economic intelligence of SVG Green Party and the economic incompetence of the ULP regime. Spending millions on the 2009 Referendum, during a time when our economy is weak and thousands of people are jobless, is another example of poor financial management by the ULP regime. They waste taxpayers’ money,” the release, dated July 27 and signed by Green Party Leader and co-founder Ivan O’Neal, said.

“The Minister of Finance should produce a cost benefit analysis to justify an increase from 15 to 17 constituencies. Doing so just for political advantage is foolish,” the release ended.