A Nation at a Turning Point
St. Vincent and the Grenadines stands on the brink of a rare moment in its history. After nearly twenty-five years under a government whose power was born of the “roadblock revolution,” the people are finally signaling that the long night of political banditry is at its nadir. For a quarter of a century, the Vincentian imagination was suffocated by gross mismanagement, unprecedented self-enrichment, and psychopathic behaviour in high office that plunged SVG over a cliff of three billion dollars national debt while, without conscience, is still asking the insulted and injured citizens of SVG for another five years. Anti-social personality disorder (ASPD) of the political ilk indeed. But today, the air has changed. The ground has shifted. And the Vincentian people – especially the independent-minded, the critical thinkers, and the long-silent masses – are awakening to a new question: What kind of nation do we want to become? If we seek a blueprint, we need not invent one. We already have a model in our closest democratic ally: Taiwan.
Taiwan: A Roadmap for Small-Nation Greatness
Seventy-five years ago, Taiwan was dismissed by global economists as a remote fishing island with few natural resources and limited prospects. But history tells a more complex truth. Geographically strategic, culturally overflowing and ecologically resplendent, Taiwan leveraged its assets, disciplined institutions and national unity to become the 12th richest country in the world by 2025. From 1950 onward, Taiwan instituted the policies described in the still-unrefuted thesis of Why Nations Fail: inclusive institutions, transparent governance, broad-based education, technological innovation, meritocracy, and corruption intolerance. What Taiwan achieved in a single lifetime should be a revelation to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Small nations can rise. Small nations can lead. Small nations can transform themselves and help others do the same.
SVG Has the Raw Materials for a Quantum Leap
Not unlike Taiwan, SVG is rich in natural gifts: volcanic soil of rare fertility; abundant freshwater sources; forests with commercial and ecological and immense social value. Our SVG forests should be part of a NEW Green GDP. SVG is an agrarian culture rooted in resilience; a young population hungry for opportunity; and a diaspora yearning for a country worth returning to. Our failure has never been lack of potential – only a lack of political integrity, institutional maturity, and long-term national planning. On November 28, 2025, that must change. The next government must implement integrity legislation on day one. Without transparency, meritocracy, and professional governance, the country cannot move forward. With them, everything becomes possible. Remember this: It’s not about the government. It’s about the governance.
A Five-to-Ten-Year Transformation Is Within Reach
If SVG follows the Taiwanese model in principle and in practice, then within five to ten years we can become the agricultural innovation hub of the Caribbean; build value-added food industries anchored in climate-smart agriculture; develop agro-processing and forest management systems for export; create pathways a plenty from Vincentian secondary schools to Taiwanese universities; invite Taiwanese students and researchers to SVG; establish business-to-business partnerships between both nations; universalize digital literacy; and cultivate a generation fluent in AI, robotics, and advanced technology. Transformation is not magic. It is management, discipline, and choosing national interest and broad-based “thrival” over partisan survival.
Education: The Engine of Our Future
To thrive in a world where AI may eliminate entire sectors and where money itself may become obsolete in ten years, SVG must invest in a new educational mission: literacy, numeracy, oracy, digital mastery, entrepreneurship, applied agriculture, creativity, and cultural knowledge. We must be a cultural repository. We must set measurable standards for 5, 10, 15, and 20-year horizons. We must prepare our people for the future before it arrives.
A Culture Worthy of a New Nation
A new SVG must anchor its identity in the full spectrum of Vincentian excellence: artists, writers, musicians, poets, athletes, farmers, storytellers, journalists, entrepreneurs, scientists, carnival creators, elders, youth, and the diaspora. Culture is not decoration. Culture is development. A nation that fails to celebrate its genius cannot cultivate greatness.
Our National Heroes: A Long Overdue Reckoning
After nearly fifty years of independence, SVG has designated only one national hero—and it’s a man. This is not merely a gap in recognition but a distortion of our national memory. Our regional neighbours show the way: Barbados names 11 national heroes, including two women; Jamaica honours 7, including one woman; and Trinidad & Tobago, though without a fixed list, recognized in 1987 Elma Francois as a national hero – a Vincentian-born activist celebrated there but still unrecognized at home. This is a national failing. It is time to restore balance, dignity, and historical accuracy to our national consciousness. This writer proposes that in 2026, SVG should enshrine seven Vincentian women as National Heroes in one historic ceremony: Elma Francois, Bertha Mutt, Nelcia Robinson, Michelle Andrews, Nelly Ebou, Norma Keizer, and Sylvia Wilson. Their suffering and contributions shaped our society. Their courage and discipline strengthened our democracy. Their leadership deserves national reference and reverence. A nation that honors its women heroes is a nation that is true to itself. It would also be a global record: St. Vincent and the Grenadines would be the only country where 87% of its national heroes are women.
The Long Horizon: 15, 20, 25, 50 Years
Like Taiwan, SVG must think in decades, not election cycles. We must craft a 15-year education and technology plan; a 20-year demographic and diaspora strategy; a 25-year infrastructure and food security blueprint; and a 50-year civilizational vision for what kind of nation we intend to be in 2075. This is how small countries become great nations.
Conclusion: The Choice Before Us is Us
This election is not merely about replacing one government with another. It is about replacing an era of stagnation with an era of unprecedented success – from within for the souls, hearts, minds and bodies of the people to the wider context of the socio-economics of SVG. If we adopt Taiwan’s discipline, integrity, long-term planning, and investment in human capital, then SVG can – per capita – become one of the most successful countries in the world. SVG will serve as a regional model of transformation. The desperados robbed our train of thought and sought to make us ungovernable. Those onboard “terrorists” dressed as political pilots have plunged our plane of state into an uncontrolled socio-economic plummet. Not only did they do that, but they blamed severe weather conditions for the socio-economic crash. We the citizens of SVG know it was unmitigated pilot error. Never again must they be permitted to file any flight plan for our country. Never again allow them near the cockpit and controls of government. In a matter of hours, on November 27th, we wil choose between what was and what can be. The future is not waiting. It is calling. It is ours to claim. It is ours to reframe. It is our to name. Rise New Youloumain.
