Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has served SVG well

29.Jan.10

Editor: It may be said that I am a very biased “Labour Hog”. But I want to believe that I am an objective individual, an independent thinker and a man who is not afraid to tell it like it is.{{more}}

Even Stephen Wonder would see that Mr. Eustace has been wrong about every Budget presented by Dr.Gonsalves since he came to office in 2001.

Salaries have been paid on time – except in a few cases where there were minor holdups with processing of wages for hourly workers; the government has met all payment obligations on loans and to regional and international institutions; the economy of the country has grown every single year, even after 911, the global meltdown and world recession; there have been more social programmes implemented in SVG from 2001 – 2009, than during any other period in the history of governance; we have not heard any alarm bells sounded by financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF; and I could go on and on.

Since 2002 up until yesterday, during every single one of Mr Eustaces’ Budget/Estimates presentations, he declared in his opening “…this is the worst Budget I have ever seen in this country…”

Brothers and sisters, we have no natural resources in our country. Thanks to the the progressive foreign policy of the Gonsalves ULP, SVG receives great help from many nations with different ideological persuasion. Given Mr. Eustace’s backward rhetoric over the years, I doubt he will ever be able to turn to many of these countries for assistance.

Seriously, which other Prime Minister in the world would have been able to put the Argyle International Airport project together in the “magnificent” way De Comrade did?

Whether one is a “Ralph hater” or a “Eustace lover”, one has to admit that Comrade is the better leader (“Better By Far”) for SVG in these times of local and global economic challenges. One also has to concede that Mr. Eustace has failed to demonstrate over the past 10 years, that he has what it takes to lead SVG to progress. His poor performance in the House a couple of days ago showed how unprepared Mr. Eustace is for the Prime Minister’s office.

Many faults has De Comrade, but being a poor leader is not one of them. Like Mitchell and Cato before him, he may come over at times like an “I Man”, but in my opinion, Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves has delivered in fine style. He was easily the Caribbean leader of the last decade. He has served SVG well!

Wade Kojo Williams Sr.