Opposition Leader calls on government to address crime in SVG

Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition, Dr Godwin Friday, is calling on the government to “wake up” and deal effectively with the crime situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Dr Friday made the call while speaking on the New Democratic Partys (NDP) New Times programme on Monday, April 17.

So far for this year St Vincent and the Grenadines has recorded 12 homicides.

On Easter Monday, April 10, Jomo ‘Top Dog’ Brudy was shot in Pole Yard and died the following day at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

The other recent victim who also died by the gun was Michael Richards who was shot on Friday, April 14 at Queen’s Drive.

The government needs to wake up and take this matter very, very seriously,” Friday stressed.

“Everybody needs to admit that the situation has gotten out of hand and that we need to do something about it.”

The NDP Leader said we “can’t just go along like this is normal, it’s not normal”.

He said that the matter of crime and violence cannot be “pushed under a rug and pretend that somehow people are not noticing. We notice.”

He explained that this is the reason why the NDP speaks out every time there is a shooting incident or death in the communities.

“ It is a serious matter that threatens to get worse.”

He said crime affects not only the grieving families, but the wider community as well.

“It gives the perception… that things are going from bad to worse.

“People don’t want to come and invest in a country where there is chronic violence, where there is death d and destruction taking place every weekend it seems.

“People don’t want to be associated with a country where law and order seems to be under threat, or broken down,” the Opposition Leader lamented.

With the increasing number of homicides, Friday charged that the police don’t seem to be solving these crimes and people being brought to justice.

“This is what is so alarming to the people in this country,” he stressed.

He noted that crime not only affects one’s peace of mind, but also the nature of the country as we know it.

This week, the New Democratic Party issued a statement on the crime situation, claiming that the streets of this country are running red with crime.

The party stated that “crime in SVG is a crisis that affects everyone and will require a national collaboration to address it.”