Opposition Leader Ralph Gonalves on Wednesday attempted to use the first report by the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Vincentian economy after the change in government in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to rally support for his Unity Labour Party (ULP).
Speaking on his “Morning Comrade” show on Star Radio, the ULP’s radio station, Gonsalves repeatedly said that voters had the right to make “a mistake” by voting in the New Democratic Party (NDP) but they now had a duty to correct it.
The former prime minister was speaking five months after Vincentian electors voted out the ULP, which had been in office since March 2001.
Gonsalves was the only ULP candidate to win a seat as Vincentian electors also moved against his son and Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves, who was MP for East St. George, and Saboto Casear, the minister of agriculture and MP for South Central Windward, who were the front-runners to replace the older Gonsalves, who turns 80 in August.
The NDP’s victory was compelling, winning over 10,000 more popular votes than the ULP, with several candidates winning by over 1,000 votes.
It was the most decisive victory by a political party in SVG since the NDP won all 15 seats in 1989.
However, since his electoral defeat, Gonsalves has taken to the radio, painting a picture of doom and gloom, suggesting that SVG, under the leadership of Godwin Friday, was on the brink of failure.
On Tuesday, the prime minister, noting his commitment to transparency, held a joint press conference with the IMF team as they announced their conclusion at the end of their Article IV Consultation, an annual exercise that was also done when Gonsalves was in office.
Friday, who had been told about the IMF’s findings and suggestions before deciding to make them public, stressed that while economic reform was necessary in SVG, his government will develop a “homegrown economic stabilisation programme that will ensure that we have national ownership of the recovery journey on which we are embarking”.
The prime minister further stated:
“We have to ensure that whatever we do with respect to adjusting to these developments, that those persons, the most vulnerable, are given the greatest level of protection.”
However, Gonsalves sought to blame the 5-month-old government for the current state and outlook on the Vincentian economy, telling listeners, “In this case, in electing the NDP government… [it is] your duty to correct that mistake in the swiftest possible manner.”
He urged ULP supporters and sympathisers to organise, saying, “Our constituency councils have to be meeting. All the organs of the party have to be functioning properly…
“We have to set the platform for the return of the ULP government,” he added, pointing to a planned national council meeting next month.
Gonsalves remains at the helm of the ULP despite his age and the party’s defeat at the polls.
The ULP went into the 2025 election without a deputy leader on the slate as Montgomery Daniel, who is in his 70s, bowed out of electoral politics last year, after five terms as MP for North Windward.
The ULP had been slated to elect a new deputy leader at its convention in July 2022 but decided to keep Daniel, as party members shouted their support for Ceasar as Gonsalves entered the venue.
Gonsalves said what exists in SVG is a clear choice between opposing economic visions.
“I want this programme to be played over and over… to see the difference between the perspective of Friday and the IMF, on the one hand, and I and the ULP, on the other hand,” he said in his near-four-hour programme.
“The lines are drawn clear,” he told listeners. “We must reject the austerity message of the IMF and Friday and instead talk about prudence and enterprise… and inclusive growth,” the opposition leader said.
It is the second time in less than a month that Gonsalves has attempted to use a current affairs issue to rally supporters of the ULP.
Earlier this month, he criticised an amendment that the NDP was proposing to make to the Constitution and attempted to rally Vincentians behind the ULP.
He framed that proposal as an attempt by the NDP to secure an insurance policy in light of the election petitions filed by the ULP challenging the candidacy of Friday and his Foreign Affairs Minister, Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble, in the 2025 general election in light of their Canadian citizenship.
However, Friday told Parliament that the amendment will be sent to a select committee and will not be brought to the floor for debate or approval until there has been wide consultation on its.
The IMF’s Article IV staff report and the Executive Board’s concluding statement, when published, are expected to provide fuller detail on the Fund’s assessment of SVG’s economy and the policy adjustments it is recommending.
