Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
Round Table with Oscar
December 15, 2015

As we get close to the crossroad

The Electoral campaign continues among the two contending parties and we wait for their dust to settle. In the meantime, it is our task to face the questions about the state of our society and what the way ahead looks like for us.

Who has the right to govern us?{{more}}

The office of the Supervisor of Elections managed the electoral process, provided us with results and will in time present its report on the December 9, 2015 poll. The results presented give an 8:7 parliamentary majority to the Unity Labour Party (ULP) and that party, the ULP, has the mandate to govern the state. The New Democratic Party has the right and the duty to unmask, expose and challenge any improper conduct it observed during the elections, and we expect to hear such disclosures for which they have evidence. Valid material examined by our court may indeed change the course of the elections and might even unveil more fitfully the will of the people. The ULP may also disclose wrong conduct which it has documented. The campaign continues, while the ULP sits in office.

What quality do we expect in governance from ULP 4?

In calling for a fourth consecutive term in government, nothing that the ULP said made us look for a more democratic quality in its operations. The transparent cruelties that Mr Otto Sam, Mr Leon ‘Bigger’ Samuel, Mr Rollin Stapleton, Ms Luzette King and others faced during the earlier ULP terms were not declared as ‘things of the past,’ not to be seen in the fourth term. The indecent, or discreet defamation of such courageous women who alleged sexual assault and slackness from the person of Prime Minister Gonsalves was not placed in the category ‘Never Again’. The national insult of not presenting audited accounts for the biggest capital project, at Argyle, but declaring a ‘Creative Financing’ sleight of hand, surely makes us worry about projects in the fourth term. Governance in the fourth term is not going to improve, if it is left up only to the Government to improve itself.

It has been said that where you find a nation in which the state penetrates and dominates the society, and where one party dominates the state, and where one leader dominates the party, there you have a nation on the way to forging a fascist political culture. Already we have seen in all constituencies’ posters that the ULP Great Leader is in a position as father-giver for each of the ULP candidates. The Comrade is also the constituency boss. Will a ULP fourth term see in SVG, one person controlling a ruling party, one party controlling the state, and the state controlling the society? If this is the quality of governance that is ahead of us, then in this period 2015 to 2020, a political crisis is looming, a crossroad is within the horizon. We have to rise to a new challenge.

Who will protect our democracy?

Leaders who become fascist, like Adolf Hitler or Forbes Burnham were very attractive and popular political leaders with a message that mobilized their people and parties. It is said that young Walter Rodney of Guyana had a preference for Forbes Burnham at one point. In the end, Burnham arranged the assassination of the valiant Rodney, who declared in referring to President Burnham: ‘People’s Power, No Dictator’. In parliamentary democracies like ours in SVG, it is hard for Parliament to halt the downward slide to fascism (a terrorist kind of party capitalist government). The party will always vote the way its fascist leader tells it to vote and the opposition will spin its top in mud. It will be the task of a politically alert Vincentian citizenry to rescue what we have of democracy and decency. Political party mobilization and education are good, but limited to getting a team into Parliament. To rescue and to renew our democracy in SVG calls for a movement of citizens from different walks of life and interests to learn together that justice, bread and decency in society must be taught to those whom we entrust with our power. That kind of struggle needs clear heads, brave hearts and feet on the ground. Nothing less during ULP4. WE are approaching our personal and community crossroad.

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Domestic worker killed at Long Wall
    Front Page
    Domestic worker killed at Long Wall
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    FAMILY MEMBERS of a woman who was killed at Long Wall say they suspect their relative was hacked by a person they all know very well. On Tuesday, Sept...
    Front Page
    NDP never built a single house in SVG – Finance Minister
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE IDEA THAT HOUSING is a right, that every Vincentian has a right to safe and secure housing, and that the government has a role to play in ensuring...
    No bail for Police officer charged with attempted murder
    Front Page
    No bail for Police officer charged with attempted murder
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A POLICE OFFICER, who allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend 26 times about her body was remanded even as his lawyer argued that the Royal St Vincent and...
    Front Page
    New ULP Administration will roll out AI policy
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A NEW UNITY LABOUR PARTY ADMINISTRATION will be rolling out an Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy to embrace its positives and guard against the nega...
    Sandy Bay Secondary School marks 20th Anniversery
    Front Page
    Sandy Bay Secondary School marks 20th Anniversery
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 9,2025 was a memorable day for the staff and students of the Sandy Bay Secondary School, which was marking its 20th anniversary wi...
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE ASHLEY LASHLEY Foundation, with support from the United States Government, is implementing a local-level project entitled “Community-Driven Strate...
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE ASHLEY LASHLEY Foundation, with support from the United States Government, is implementing a local-level project entitled “Community-Driven Strate...
    Skills not available locally, non-nationals have to be hired says Finance Minister
    News
    Skills not available locally, non-nationals have to be hired says Finance Minister
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    NON- NATIONALS ARE being hired to fill several jobs in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) simply because locals did not have the required skill sets....
    Montgomery Daniel squashes rumours that he’s sick
    News
    Montgomery Daniel squashes rumours that he’s sick
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Montgomery Daniel has sought to clear around rumours that have been circulating relating to his health. Speaking on NBC radio on...
    News
    $1.3 billion in Tourism investment to yield 2,000 jobs – Camillo
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    The GOVERNMENT of St Vincent and the Grenadines is set to sign agreements for tourism investment of $1.3 billion on mainland St.Vincent. On Monday, Se...
    Bagga’ man pleads guilty to illegal gun, ammo possession
    From the Courts, News
    Bagga’ man pleads guilty to illegal gun, ammo possession
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A BARROUALLIE MAN will be sentenced next week after pleading guilty to being in illegal possession of a firearm and eight rounds of ammunition. Demron...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok