The Opposition Leader, Ralph Gonsalves, has slammed the government’s budget theme—”From Rescue to Resilience”—by using the word “rescue” sarcastically.
On Tuesday he repeatedly lists his own administration’s achievements and asks rhetorically if the country needs to be “rescued” from these successes.
Gonsalves argued that the government’s claim that they are “rescuing” the country is absurd given the progress made under his leadership. He went on lists specific achievements and asks if the public wants to be “rescued” from them:
Economic & Human Development: He cites the United Nations Development Program ranking the country 76th globally in human development (high category) and asks, “That’s where you want to rescue us from? You want to carry us back to medium or lower?”.
Economic Growth: He points out that GDP grew from under $800 million in 2001 to $3.2 billion today and asks, “Must we be rescued from the fact that unemployment has dropped sharply and so too poverty?”.
Education Revolution: Gonsalves highlighted the massive increase in university scholarships and community college enrolment, asking, “You want to rescue us from that?”.
Infrastructure: He specifically lists the Argyle International Airport (AIA), the port, and the Rabacca bridge, asking, “rescue St. Vincent from AIA..rescue the people north of the river from Rabacca bridge”.
Banking Stability: Gonsalves details how his administration turned around the National Commercial Bank (now Bank of SVG) from near insolvency to a $2.1 billion asset base, asking, “You want to rescue me from that?”.
IMF Praise: He quotes an IMF report praising his administration’s “decisive policy responses” to recent crises, stating, “That’s what you want to rescue us from… decisive policy responses”.
Gonsalves then flips the narrative, stating that it is actually the current NDP government that needs rescuing.
He states that the government is “treading water dangerously, grasping for breath, drowning itself is waiting to be rescued from the metaphoric billowing seas of the regional and global economic turmoil” due to their own “demonstrable incompetence”.