Vote for the love of your country

We all have different reasons why we support a political party, be it the governing party, the ULP, the opposition, the NDP or even the premature Green Party. However, for the period leading up to election day we must put aside all the impurities and vote for the love of our country. In so doing, words and phrases such as “economic progress”, “the advancement of our people”, “the enhancement of education” and “the fortification of our recent successes” should weigh heavily on our minds.{{more}}

In the dark tunnel out of poverty, Education is the key. The labour and efforts of the Unity Labour Party in stressing the importance of Education as playing a most important role in the development of our people, and the continued progress of our nation as a whole have taken St. Vincent and the Grenadines to a whole new level.

It is pitiful though, that a select few have been induced to criticize the education plan embarked upon in the last four and a half years. One hears arguments about the construction of “board schools”, a topic being endorsed on the opposition’s platform. Personally, I wish that the previous administration under the NDP was as quick in their innovations as the Unity Labour Party, and had built a “board school” for the Diamonds Government School, so that students including myself would have been able to attend a full day primary school at least for one day in our lives, instead of the half day system that we had to contend with. A recent visit to Guyana was revealing. Guyana has produced renowned Caribbean intellectuals of numerous accomplishments who were schooled in board schools at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

It appears that the slate of candidates both present and past for the New Democratic Party had very little foresight, or governed with any set plan in mind. Matters were conducted under the NDP by mere guess work. So all of a sudden you heard about the traffic lights then they were gone. Then you heard about Ottley Hall and how important it would be, then you heard it was gone and not only that, but hundreds of millions gone too. Then you heard about the NDP’s plan to build an International Airport and in the next few months it was gone. Really! It takes Grace to even entertain any form of discussion with the NDP.

This is very much unlike the approach of the Unity Labour Party to set a solid foundation by first ensuring that by 2015 the workforce for both the Public and Private sectors is fully trained.

Imagine that seven days before election day the NDP had not yet presented a manifesto, while the ULP has produced two such documents with one focused on Youth development only. A delay by the NDP in producing these documents earlier is an act of dishonesty, since the intention is to ensure that persons are not allowed to properly entertain discussions on the documents. What the NDP has produced is an economic plan replete with generalizations, and as one Mr. Russell puts it best, “The economic plan was taken off the conveyor belt a bit too soon.”

At this time the entire nation is called upon to ensure that this election is peaceful. One old tip is to avoid all forms of confrontation and acts of harassment, since this can lead to acts of violence. The only fight that we should entertain is the one to continue building St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Veronica, a Barbadian election scrutinizer says that the way the polls are looking now it appears that all we have in the mix now is “Wednesday 7th for elections, Thursday 8th for celebration and on the 9th not even Dr. Friday for the Opposition!” It is rumored that “Club pessimistic” is now bankrupt of questions and since the club is not solution oriented it may be allowed to die a natural death come December 8th. This is left to be seen.

Jest aside though, I wish that the good Lord in Heaven will bless us all with long life to see a fulfillment of the vision of Comrade Ralph and the Unity Labour Party for the betterment of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.