NDP Candidate for Central Leeward confident of his chances

The New Democratic Party’s newly selected candidate for Central Leeward, Conroy Huggins, has expressed serious concerns about the security of residents in the constituency, given the conditions of police stations in the area.

Speaking with SEARCHLIGHT on Sunday, September 29, Huggins spoke about the absence of a police station in the Central Leeward Town of Barouallie.

He said that crime is big problem throughout the country, including in the constituency of Central Leeward, and mainly in Layou.

To help address the crime situation in the constituency, Huggins said “ the improvement of the two police stations in Central Leeward will be a priority for me”.

There are two police stations in the area- the Barrouallie police station, and the Layou police station.

According to Huggins, the Barrouallie police station was abandoned since February, 2021, because of its dilapidated condition.

Since then, officers at the Barrouallie police station have been operating out of a rented building at Peters Hope, which is almost a mile and a half away.

So, at present, there is no police station in Barrouallie, and Huggins charged that many residents in the town, especially business owners, are living in fear.

A few months ago, there was a robbery at the offices of the SVG Teachers Credit Union in Barrouallie, just about 100 yards from where the police station was located.

Huggins felt this crime would not have even been contemplated, if the police station was in Barrouallie.

“It would not have happened because they had to pass by the police station to go to that place, and had to pass by the police station to get back out.”

He said “right now, the business owners in Barrouallie are very, very concerned. They have reported that they feel abandoned by the security authorities in our country.”

“As a result, they have been very fearful that their businesses can be robbed at any point,” the NDP hopeful charged.

While there is an existing police station in Layou, Huggins said “ the Layou police station is totally dilapidated, externally and internally”.

He said the conditions under which police officers in Layou operate are “horrendous,” identifying a leaking roof and faulty plumbing among the problems.

“From a crime standpoint, if the police are not comfortable in the location where they are, in terms of their health and safety, you can imagine how much that would impact their performance on the job.”

If elected to represent Central Leeward, Huggins said the renovation of the Layou Police Station will be one of his priorities; so too the Barrouallie Police Station which he will have renovated so the Police officers can return from Peters Hope to their base in Barrouallie.

Speaking about the potential contribution of Central Leeward to the economic development of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the NDP candidate outlined plans to revive agriculture and fishing in the area.

Apart from residents utilizing farm lands, Huggins said he also will focus on home gardening as a means of having people earn an income.

He noted that people who do not have much land can plant vegetables in containers and get enough for their home use, and also to sell.

Expressing confidence in his chances in the upcoming general elections, Huggins said “word on the ground is that people want a change”.

The Central Leeward constituency is considered as one of the strong holds of the ruling Unity Labour Party.

The constituency has been in the hands of the ULP since 1994 with Sir Louis Straker as the representative.

In the 2020 general elections, the ULP’s candidate, Orando Brewster, successfully maintained the ULP’s hold on Central Leeward.

The NDP last held that constituency between 1984 and 1994, when Herbert Young was the Parliamentary Representative.