Peters declares herself a beacon of hope for West Kingstown’s future

Senator Keisal Peters has presented herself as a beacon of hope for a better future for the people of West Kingstown.

“I stand here before you tonight as the representation of the future for West Kingstown,” Peters said on September 3 at the West Kingstown Constituency Conference of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) held at the Kingstown Government School under the theme ‘Renaissance of Hope’.

SENATOR KEISAL PETERS

“We can choose to have hope if we choose to have West Kingstown come home to the Unity Labour Party, and I need you to understand the vision that I have for West Kingstown. Since I have known myself, I have never been afraid to speak. I have never been afraid to advocate on behalf of persons. In fact for a decade, I spent my life advocating for people who did not have a voice.”

She added that as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, she advocates for the entire St Vincent and the Grenadines, but some people try to limit her.

There are people who want to limit me in a box, and say she not advocating for youths, which is a lie … she not advocating for women which is a lie. I want you to rest assured that advocate for the people of West Kingstown. The Prime Minister will tell you, my Cabinet colleagues will tell you that I am never shy to advocate for West Kingstown.”

Peters called on supporters to embrace love and reject divisiveness in the constituency.

“We need to rekindle the humanity that we have, and the love that we have in West Kingstown. We need to reject the spirit of divisiveness. You see all these divisions of hate … we need to reject them and cut them out. We have to come together and reunite for the benefit of West Kingstown.”

She reported to the West Kingstown grouping that over the past days and weeks, she had been touring the constituency, pointing out “I am the Foreign Minister and I am required to travel, but I made the extra effort as we culminate in this weekend of activities.”

Senator Peters said although West Kingstown is an urban constituency, there are farmers and fishers in the community who also need representation.
“We must look out for the few farmers that we have, for the fishermen that we have, and that is why we have programmes like the Fisheries Expansion Programme; that is why we have programmes like 25-by-25.”

She explained that the 25-by-25 CARICOM programme is one that calls on member states to increase production by 25-per cent by the year 2025.

“And West Kingstown cannot be out of that count. We have to do what we can to assist with nation building. We have a lot of farmers and over the last year and a half, I have met with farmers and there are farmers coming to me, saying to me ‘we need assistance … we need representation’ and I intend for the farmers of West Kingstown to do what they must, to increase the production in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

The aspiring representative spoke of the importance of creating an enabling environment for the young sports people in the community.

“We have to recognize that we have incidents of crime in different parts of the country, and unfortunately West Kingstown is one of those areas. I believe that once we have the facilities and the programmes to keep the young people occupied, we can continue to produce sports men and women and they can make a contribution and represent their country with pride.”

She said there needs to be greater awareness of the adult education programmes on offer so that “… our young men and women … you may not be academically inclined, but you can learn a skill. We must bring awareness to these opportunities. If in the meantime you cannot find employment, learn a skill. This is part of the education programme that I intend to roll out in West Kingstown.”

Senator Peters said she has met with engineers who are working on the national road rehabilitation project, and that she plans to meet with the head of the Roads Buildings and General Services Authority (BRAGSA) towards addressing the road issues that residents face.

“There is no bottomless pit of money; we have to be realistic with this. But we are doing what we can, and I am doing what I can so that West Kingstown is not out of the count,” Peters further stated of her plans to ensure that West Kingstown receives far better representation that what it has at present.

Other speakers at the constituency conference included Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Tourism Carlos James, newly appointed Minister of Urban Development Senator Benarva Browne, and Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.

A new constituency council was elected to assist in the management of its affairs.

General elections are constitutionally due in St Vincent and the Grenadines in December 2025. The West Kingstown seat has been held by Daniel Cummings of the New Democratic Party since 2010.