St. Vincent opposition party leader Godwin Friday says Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and his government are out of touch with the needs of farmers and fishermen.
Speaking on the radio recently, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that Sandals Resort, which is set to open next month, will not be purchasing produce from individual farmers and fishermen. He said that farmers and fishermen would have to’ step up to the plate’ and come together if they wanted to sell to Sandals.
President of the NDP, Dr. Godwin Friday, said, “These comments show just how out of touch the Prime Minister is. He does not have a clue about what farmers and fishermen are going through in this country. Farmers and fishermen are working tirelessly and have been told by the government that there will be opportunities for them. The government should be working night and day to ensure local farmers, fishermen, and businesses get the opportunity to sell to Sandals Resort, but they prefer to point fingers and blame others. Their lack of action to assist farmers and fishermen in positioning themselves to benefit from the new resort is a dereliction of duty. It shows they don’t care about ordinary people.”
In his recent budget address, the Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, said that “new and lucrative opportunities abound for farmers and fishers, led by an increasingly vibrant private sector that has invested heavily in fisheries centers, restaurants, and hotels.”
But what is the government doing to enable our people to benefit from any opportunities that come from hotel investments?
Commenting on the situation, Nigel Stephenson, MP for South Leeward, said, “Sandals Hotel and other businesses can bring great opportunities for employment and for local businesses. But, the government has a vital role to facilitate this. This government, however, seems determined to ignore the opportunities and shirk its responsibility to act as a bridge between local businesses and foreign investors so the local businesses could have access to the new opportunities. Instead, they are pointing fingers and making half-hearted promises. Next time they visit South Leeward, they must come and meet some of the farmers and fishermen here and find out firsthand about their challenges and what they need to get ahead of. And the government ministers must change their condescending attitude towards ordinary people and stop being so patronizing when they talk about them.”
