Five months into the tenure of the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration led by Prime Minister Godwin Friday, a prominent regional lawyer, journalist and social commentator Jomo Thomas has sounded a public alarm: the new government is in dire need of a skilled professional communications strategist to reverse eroding public credibility.
For weeks, widespread dissatisfaction with the NDP’s disjointed public messaging has bubbled under the surface of political discourse in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but until now few have voiced the criticism openly. Thomas argues that the era of polite, behind-the-scenes feedback is over, and hard truths must be shared before the government loses what remaining public trust it holds.
In just 20 weeks in office, the administration has accumulated a growing trail of missteps: contradictory statements from different cabinet members, uncoordinated policy announcements, overreaching executive actions, and confirmed instances of public misinformation. While individual incidents may appear trivial on their own, Thomas notes that taken together, they reveal a dangerous pattern of disorganization that the post-election goodwill from the party’s November 2025 decisive electoral victory can no longer obscure.
As the administration approaches its six-month milestone, a clear majority of Vincentians still cannot articulate the government’s core policy priorities or long-term national direction. Even for loyal NDP supporters who may take offense to this assessment, the reality is unavoidable: for many ordinary citizens, the current government feels indistinguishable from the previous Unity Labour Party administration it defeated, carrying over the same policy approaches, leadership styles, and bureaucratic habits. This lack of visible change has left many voters openly questioning what purpose their landslide election win actually served.
From the earliest days of the NDP’s term, political observers warned that while the party ran a vigorous, effective campaign, it entered office unprepared for the day-to-day demands of governing. Supporters of the new administration pushed back at the time, arguing that all new governments face an expected learning period. But Thomas points out that a productive learning curve depends on three key traits: humility to accept gaps in knowledge, discipline to implement structural changes, and willingness to act on feedback – traits he says the current administration has so far lacked, instead leaning into stubbornness and complacency.
Too many incoming cabinet members and political appointees have entered office assuming they already possess the skills needed to govern, Thomas says, rejecting outside guidance or professional support. The outcomes of this overconfidence are already visible to the public.
Persistent public speculation has emerged that Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock functions as the de facto head of government, even as many dismiss these rumors as unfounded. Notably, the administration’s own poor communication strategy has done nothing to counter this growing public perception. Increasingly, voters only see Prime Minister Friday at low-stakes, image-focused events: school openings, local sports competitions, and other photo-ready public appearances. Thomas stresses that the Office of the Prime Minister is not a prop for social media content; it requires consistent, serious public visibility and clear demonstration of national leadership.
Thomas adds that the current press secretary, while widely recognized as a hardworking contributor during the election campaign, lacks the specialized training and high-level experience required to manage national government communications. This is not a personal criticism, he clarifies, but an objective observation of a critical professional gap that needs addressing. Running communications for an election campaign and coordinating national public messaging for a sitting government are entirely different roles requiring vastly different skill sets.
Voters often criticized former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves for his overwhelming, omnipresent public profile, Thomas acknowledges, but one clear benefit of that leadership style was that the public always knew exactly where the administration stood on key issues. There was no question who the national leader was, and the entire cabinet aligned behind consistent messaging. Thomas emphasizes that no one is calling for a return to Gonsalves’ authoritarian-style leadership, but effective governance by any administration requires clear, consistent messaging. If Friday is doing the work of leading effectively behind closed doors, that work is completely invisible to the public – and in politics, public perception shapes reality.
The urgent need for a professional communications strategist extends far beyond optimizing social media content, Thomas explains. The new hire would be tasked with coordinating consistent messaging across all government-owned and aligned platforms, including the Agency for Public Information, NBC Radio, VC3 Television, and other state media outlets. Without this coordinated leadership, Thomas warns the NDP administration will continue to be seen as unfocused, reactive to events rather than proactive, and internally divided.
The initial public excitement that followed the NDP’s early policy moves – including the popular VAT-free shopping day and the partial reinstatement of public servants dismissed by the previous administration – has already worn off. Five months in, voters are increasingly asking: what tangible, meaningful change has the government delivered since those opening moves? What is the administration’s long-term plan for the country? Who is actually in charge of setting the national agenda?
Thomas urges the NDP leadership to wake up to a core political reality: governance and political communication cannot be separated. The party’s chances of winning re-election at the end of the term will not depend solely on delivering policy outcomes. It will depend on how well it communicates its vision, how consistently it demonstrates leadership, and how effectively it manages public perception of its work.
It is past time for the NDP to get serious about fixing this critical gap, Thomas says. It is past time for the administration to act. If the party fails to address its communication failures soon, it risks fulfilling the current fears of many political observers: becoming a one-term administration that squandered its electoral mandate before it had a chance to deliver on its promises.
By S. Smith
*This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent the official editorial position of iWitness News.*