ST. VINCENT-Opposition claims PM in campaign mode.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – The vice president of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), St. Clair Leacock, says Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has entered into a “campaign mode” following the speech he gave during 44th-anniversary celebrations of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“There are some things that a prime minister has to be careful in how he says them. Because it is evident that the significant takeaway from [his] presentation is that the government is in the

“And they’re trying to grasp support and votes here, there, and everywhere,” the Central Kingstown legislator said on a radio program.

In his independence address to the nation, Gonsalves announced that as of Jan. 1, 2024, the income tax threshold will be moved from EC$22,000 to EC$25,000 annually, beginning Jan. 1, 2024. He also announced a five percent non-taxable addition to nurses’ salaries for the first half of next year.

“And it is dangerous when you decide that the nurses have a legitimate claim, which they do. And that we’re going to give them a top-up. Everybody could take some do-well… But teachers can make the same argument, ‘What about me?’ and the policemen will make the same argument.’ What about me?'” Leacock said.

Gonsalves also announced a 50 percent waiver in the repayment of loans to farmers by the state-owned Farmers Support Company, which he said would benefit 1,185 farmers.

The prime minister also announced that his government will look into waiving debts owned by vendors to the Kingstown Town Board as well as new measures to tackle crime, as the country has recorded 43 homicides, surpassing the record of 42 set last year.

General elections are constitutionally due in February 2026, and Gonsalves, 78, and his ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) will be seeking an unprecedented sixth consecutive five-year term in office.

Leacock said it is “a perfect time for Vincentians and the Vincentian electorate to take advantage of the political atmosphere.

“I mean by that clearly, all political parties listen to government and opposition. And perhaps even more so, one can conclude that the government is listening.

“And if I’m correct in that point of departure, then it’s a time for you to make your demands upon the government of the day. Yes, several things have been offered. And I will go into some detail on some of them. But I’m sure you can ask and will receive much more from the political parties at your doors now, looking for your attention.”

He noted that Gonsalves cited the projections by the International Monetary Fund that the local economy will grow 6.2 percent this year and five percent next year.

“That is, in summary, to say that we are enjoying our best times ever under the Unity Labour Party because they have been in government for the last 22 plus years, and they have never achieved a five percent economic growth,” Leacock said.

“So you can begin by asking yourself: ‘If this is the best of the best, well, God forbid if things worsen. Because the suggestion is that work and opportunity are all around us.”

He said the prime minister highlighted that the construction sector is busy, and Leacock said he thinks this is “a fair claim.”

“And busy it must be with a EC$600 million port project, all those hotel investments, Sandals and the others, that are coming on stream and so our artisans perhaps have great opportunity to find employment for themselves.”

But Leacock said this construction boom has its challenges in that while construction is an essential contributor to the nation’s gross domestic product, it is, for the central part, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, “a non-tradable sector.

“That is, we do not export, for the most part, construction activities,” he said, explaining that the country does not export construction-related commodities and, in turn, earn foreign exchange.

“The reverse may well be true that for us to have this construction boom as he defines it, we have to find foreign exchange to pay for all of the things that must come in to facilitate the construction sector,” Leacock said, mentioning cement, steel, and lumber.

“We must have hard currency to pay for that. So if we’re not earning foreign exchange, either through tourism or through agriculture, it’s a fair question to ask, ‘How are we paying for those things?’

Leacock said the prime minister took “a broadside swipe” at the NDP advocacy for citizens by investment (CBI), through which foreign investors would be granted citizenship in return for making a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the island.

“And that is a road that has to be very carefully managed and navigated. And I’m not going to expand on that this morning. But the jury will be out for that. And Vincentians will have to decide on that sufficient to say that between 2001 in the [then Opposition Leader, Arnhim] Eustace years and today,” Leacock said.

“When that subject was being debated, whether we should have citizenship by investment program, we have lost on or around five billion dollars… So we could ask, where would St. Vincent have been now had we had that injection of five billion dollars had we adopted our program.”

Gonsalves had repeatedly said that he and his ULP administration are opposed, on principle, to CBI and has likened it to selling passports.