Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble, has told Vincentian in the United States that St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) needs them to move to the next level.
“St. Vincent is at a place where we need to start moving upwards. We have to start moving upwards,” Bramble said at a meet and greet with Vincentians in Washington on Friday.
“And in my view, a part of the reason why I believe we are where we are right now, in not such a favourable position — I mean, we still the land of the blessed, but we have so many challenges, many of which, in my view, have been created and exacerbated by the fact that we have ostracised, we have cut off our diaspora,” Bramble said.
“We treat our Vincentians who live overseas as if they’re foreigners. And Prime Minister Friday and our government, we are determined to turn that around. And we will turn it around,” he said at the event, which was also attended by Prime Minister Godwin Friday.
Bramble said that after the New Democratic Party (NDP) won the general election in November 2025 and ministries were being assigned, “we settled on the foreign affairs, foreign trade and foreign investment.
“And then I said, ‘Prime Minister, give me diaspora.’ … because I spent a substantial portion of my life outside of St. Vincent, albeit for studying and for work, and I know the value of the opportunities that are created out here, and that we as Vincentians can create.
“Our country cannot move forward without your intimate and your really enthusiastic and deep involvement. And I want to take this opportunity to invite you, regardless to how you feel, whatever experiences you may have had about St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are still Vincentians,” Bramble said.
Bramble referred to the election petitions filed against him, in which the opposition Unity Labour Party is asking the court to declare that he and Prime Minister Godwin Friday were not qualified to contest the November 2025 general election because they also hold Canadian citizenship.
“I had reason to remind somebody the other day, in the context of these petitions that they have going now, saying we can’t run and so on, I said to them, ‘Look, my birth certificate has the parrot on it,” said Bramble, who is into a second five-year term as MP for East Kingstown.
“So, jump high, jump low; go east, go west, you can’t take that from me. And it’s the same thing with all of us. Even if you weren’t born in St. Vincent, first, second, third generation Vincentian, we are all Vincentians,” Bramble said.
He said his minister has upgraded diaspora affairs from a unit to a department.
“We are in the process of having it up and running. The deputy is going to be starting in her position pretty soon. We already have a head of the department, and we’re going to be staffing about four or five professionals whose functions will be specifically to deal with diaspora affairs.”
He said his ministry will also upgrade and strengthen the resources available to the country’s consuls general, ambassadors and the high commissioner in London.
“We’re starting out with Toronto, New York and London, where we’re going to have an investment officer and the diaspora officer in each of those overseas missions,” said Bramble, a former diplomat.
“So, we are targeted. Because we believe that investment in St. Vincent and the Grenadines should not … be limited to people with big money coming down to build big hotels and undertake huge projects.
“… We firmly believe that there’s a huge gap, particularly with our skills requirements, and we believe that that gap can be narrowed, almost eliminated, if we involve, in a meaningful way, our people in our diaspora.
“In other words, we want to turn the brain drain into a brain game. You don’t have to come back to St. Vincent to live to contribute. You don’t have to pull up your stakes and come home and open your own medical office or your accounting office.
“You can provide those services and provide those supports and network and leverage your presence and your value and your influence out here to help us move forward.”
Friday led a delegation that included Bramble to the first Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group since the NDP was elected to office.
“And I can tell you myself as an economist, when we were campaigning, we had an idea of where the country was.
“But after the discussions this week, we were not blown away, but was like really eye-opening. We’re in a bad shape. We’re in a really bad shape economically.”
Bramble, however, said SVG had three things working in its favour.
“We are a new government, so we have a little bit of leverage and a little bit of wiggle room. We are not only a new government, but a new government with a huge mandate. And thirdly, we have an enthusiastic and a fired-up and a rejuvenated diaspora,” he said.
He said that since becoming minister of diaspora affairs, Vincentians and people with Vincentians connection from all over the world, some of whom he does not know, have been contacting him via phone.
“… they’re just excited, and they want to be a part of this new journey that our country is embarking on,” Bramble said.
“So, I’m really excited. I don’t know everything, and the prime minister always reminds us of that, not that he needs to, but he does, as a good steward who captains his ship.
“I don’t know everything, but together, we can know most things that we need to know to take our country forward,” Bramble said, adding that he was there to listen, to embrace and work with members of the diaspora.
“And I am begging you, please don’t pull back yourself. Forget about … your political affiliations and the political climate.
“St. Vincent and the Grenadines would always be there. St. Vincent has been there before us. It’s here now that we’re here, and when we’re gone, it’s still going to be there.
“What are we going to do to make sure that when we leave this part of our journey, we leave it in good hands for those who are coming after us? That should be our legacy, that should be our objective,” the minister said.
