Callers to a popular radio show have painted a grim picture of the local economy, citing weeks of unpaid wages for daily workers, shuttered social facilities, and uncharacteristically empty streets in the capital during the usually busy Easter and month-end shopping period.
During the “On the Record” broadcast, a distraught caller from Rose Bank reported that she has been cleaning drains for two months without receiving any payment from the government.
“The only thing I doing, I cannot depend for nothing else… my mother cannot… this month is two months I did not get the money,” the caller stated.
Host Carlos James noted that this is not an isolated incident, claiming that workers in the agricultural sector, school staff, and even kitchen staff in Union Island are waiting on outstanding government wages.
Compounding the social issues, Keisal Peters revealed that two “Golden Years” centers for the elderly—including one built in Black Point through a National Insurance Services (NIS) initiative—have been completely closed down.
According to Peters, workers at these facilities were paid off and sent home shortly after the new administration took office, locking away vital recreation and community spaces for the nation’s elderly.
The hosts and local callers also highlighted a severe drop in commercial activity.
Callers reported that Kingstown looked like a “ghost town” despite it being the end of March and the lead-up to the Easter long weekend.
James blamed this on the government’s decision to cut major capital projects and a stated shift away from an interventionist government model, which he argues has starved the local economy of necessary cash flow.