分类： politics

A sudden, controversial order to remove street vendors from two central thoroughfares in Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has been paused indefinitely, and the country’s deputy prime minister has made a public commitment that the ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) administration will not push vendors out of the city to achieve its public space cleanup goals.

Deputy Prime Minister Major St. Clair Leacock, who also serves as minister of national security and the parliamentary representative for Central Kingstown, laid out the government’s balanced approach during an appearance on *New Times*, the NDP’s official radio program on Monday. Speaking to the public furor sparked by the Kingstown Town Board (KTB)’s abrupt September announcement, Leacock drew a clear distinction between two issues that have been incorrectly conflated in public discussion: the capital’s growing untidiness, and the street vending trade that forms a core part of Kingstown’s local economy.

“We must never, ever link vending to the unsightliness and unpleasant conditions we see across Kingstown,” Leacock stated. “Linking these two issues wrongly creates a harmful narrative that vendors themselves are the source of the capital’s mess, and that simply is not true. Vendors are risk-takers, entrepreneurs, and independent small business owners who contribute greatly to our city.”

Opening his remarks with a personal disclaimer rooted in his own background, Leacock shared that he grew up in a family of vendors. “My parents worked as vendors to build our life, and if they had not made that living through their own hard work, I would not be standing in this position today,” he said. “I cannot betray my own history and roots. If I did, my parents would turn in their graves.”

The controversy unfolded last week, when the KTB announced on a Wednesday that all vending on two of Kingstown’s central streets would have to end just three days later, on September 12. The extremely short notice caught both vendors and the general public off guard, contradicting the policy direction Prime Minister Godwin Friday laid out 100 days after the NDP took office back in March. Following widespread public pushback, the KTB issued a new statement Friday announcing that the planned vendor removal had been “stayed until further notice.”

Leacock made clear that the government’s commitment to supporting vendors does not mean it is abandoning plans to clean up Kingstown. “The capital absolutely needs a comprehensive cleanup — that is not up for negotiation,” he emphasized. The NDP, which won office last November, entered government fully aware of the capital’s appearance issues, and has already received detailed policy proposals to improve public spaces, he added. What the administration is committed to, he said, is finding a balanced, mutually beneficial solution that achieves both goals at once.

“We can deliver a win-win outcome for everyone here. We can have a clean, well-organized Kingstown while still making space for vendors to run their small businesses,” Leacock said, noting that the government is not deterred by the historical political controversy that has followed past attempts to address vending regulations in the capital. “We are not afraid to tackle tough political decisions. But this process cannot drag on forever — we will move forward with a thoughtful, inclusive plan.”

A core principle of the government’s approach, Leacock stressed, will be extensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders, a guardrail against the common mistake of policymakers assuming they already have all the answers. “The worst mistake we could make is to think we know everything, and ignore the people who are most affected by this decision,” he said, naming vendors, local business owners, pedestrians, and tourists as key stakeholders that must be included in the process. A high-level governmental meeting on the issue was scheduled for the day after Leacock’s radio address, and he confirmed that Prime Minister Friday will appoint either a dedicated task force or a single point person to coordinate work between the responsible line ministry and the KTB. Unlike top-down policy models, Leacock added, Friday will not preempt his cabinet minister’s work, and will wait for a full stakeholder report before making any formal public announcements.

Leacock outlined several potential policy solutions currently under consideration, stressing that no final decisions have been made. One proposal, first floated by the late Maxwell “Maxim” James, would see the government introduce standardized, collapsible vending stalls painted in a single national color. These stalls would keep food and produce off the ground to improve public sanitation, and allow vendors to pack up their stalls completely at the end of each day, eliminating the cluttered, mismatched display of multi-colored stalls that currently contributes to a disorganized appearance.

Other options on the table include a formal registration and licensing system to clearly confirm which vendors are authorized to operate in Kingstown, as well as adjusted trading schedules that could restrict vending to specific days — such as concentrating activity in a popular Friday-Saturday weekend market, rather than allowing vending seven days a week. On the topic of funding, Leacock noted that the cost of standardized stalls could be recouped gradually through small monthly rental fees charged to vendors, while the government is still considering whether initial upfront costs will be covered by physical planning authorities, the KTB, or another governmental body.

Leacock also pushed back against circulating political propaganda claiming that Prime Minister Friday has abandoned vendors ahead of any policy reform. “That is absolutely not true,” he said, endorsing a caller’s description of Friday as a leader who firmly believes vendors deserve full dignity for the economic independence they build through their own work. Closing his address, Leacock extended public recognition to the small business owners that form the backbone of Kingstown’s economy: “Let’s salute our vendors, let’s salute our farmers, let’s salute our small business people. Let’s work with them, because we are all major stakeholders in carrying St. Vincent and the Grenadines forward.”

A sudden policy reversal on street vendor evictions in St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ capital Kingstown has sparked sharp political disagreement, just days after the controversial proposal caught vendors and residents entirely off guard.

The chaos began on September 10, when the Kingstown Town Board (KTB) announced via social media that all street vending activities on two of Kingstown’s busiest central streets — Bedford and Bay streets — would be banned starting just three days later, on September 12. The abrupt three-day notice contradicted the governing New Democratic Party (NDP)’s own stated policy, which Prime Minister Godwin Friday reaffirmed just 100 days after the party took office, back in March. The surprise announcement left vending operators and the general public shocked, prompting widespread pushback that forced the KTB to reverse course just two days later, on September 12. The board announced via the same social media platform that the planned removal would be “stayed until further notice.”

Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Central Kingstown (the constituency that includes the capital city), weighed in on the reversal on Facebook, writing that the move was “a firm Halt awaiting our comprehensive plan for [the] remaining [work on] refurbishing of Kingstown.”

On September 16, both Local Government Minister Laverne Gibson-Velox and Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves shared their takes on the botched policy rollout, offering contrasting perspectives that aligned on only one core point: the original removal order, as written, never should have been issued.

In a conciliatory video statement released through the state-owned Agency for Public Information, Gibson-Velox framed street vending in Kingstown as a deeply sensitive issue that parallels similar debates across Caribbean countries and around the world. She argued that the government must strike a practical balance between competing stakeholder needs, noting that street vending plays a dual role: it provides critical livelihoods for thousands of working vendors while offering convenient, quick shopping options for consumers.

At the same time, Gibson-Velox acknowledged widespread public frustration with unregulated street vending, with many residents viewing it as a public nuisance that should be removed. She pointed out that the government has already invested significant public funds to develop three dedicated market locations for vendors in Kingstown, though low occupancy at these sites makes clear that many vendors do not find the alternative locations suitable for their work.

The minister confirmed that the government endorses the KTB’s decision to pause the planned removal, in response to widespread public concerns. She also announced plans for broad public consultation to develop a long-term plan for revitalizing Kingstown, saying, “We will open a process of stronger public engagement on the overall reimagining of Kingstown, with a view to undertaking the upliftment of the conditions, appearance, and operations of our capital city.” She urged residents to share their ideas with the Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Local Government, noting that Minister Andrew John’s team is already developing a beautification plan for parts of the capital. “Citizens as stakeholders should have an input in arriving at an amicable solution for improving the aesthetic value of the City of Arches,” she added.

Gonsalves, the former prime minister and current opposition leader, took a far more critical stance, slamming the original removal notice issued by acting KTB Warden Noel Dickson as a clear failure of common sense. “How could this pass anybody with common sense?” Gonsalves asked during a radio address Monday. He argued that street vending is an inevitable, longstanding part of urban life — even in modern economies — and that governments’ role is not to ban it outright, but to create fair, reasonable regulations and adequate facilities for vendors.

Gonsalves, who himself deployed heavy-handed tactics to relocate vendors during his time in office, noted that Dickson — a former public servant who ran unsuccessfully as an NDP candidate — is a new appointee to the role, mockingly referring to him as “a new sheriff in town,” a phrase he attributed to Leacock. He dismissed the government’s reversal as a “mealy-mouthed retreat,” questioning why the proposal was ever brought forward without full cabinet consideration, noting that Prime Minister Friday was out of town when the original announcement was made. He also pointed out that Leacock was the only senior government figure to publicly clarify that the move was a full halt, not just a temporary pause, and said it remains unclear whether the removal plan will be revisited in the future. Of Gibson-Velox, Gonsalves said, “I don’t know, Laverne — if she hide, she run for cover.”

A heated parliamentary debate over the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2026 has exposed deep political divides in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with government senator Jemalie John launching sharp criticism at the opposition for what he calls deliberate fearmongering over foreign investment and land ownership rules. John, a practicing lawyer, has pushed back against opposition claims that the legislative changes would dismantle long-standing safeguards against foreign control of local land, framing the amendments as a pragmatic, pro-growth update designed to boost the island nation’s business competitiveness.

At the core of the revised legislation is the repeal of a 2016 rule introduced by the previous Unity Labour Party (ULP) administration, which was then led by current Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves. The 2016 amendment expanded the scope of required registration for external companies, adding a provision that mandated registration for any foreign entity that held shares — even indirectly — in another external company operating in the jurisdiction. John argues this provision cast an unnecessarily broad regulatory net that captured entities with no meaningful commercial presence in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including global investment funds that only held marginal, indirect exposure to local assets.

“The 2016 language was so overreaching that even businesses that conduct no actual operations on our soil were forced to comply with full local registration requirements,” John told parliament. “Holding shares in a company is not the same as owning land or conducting active business here, yet the rule brought even passive, indirect stakeholders into our regulatory framework unnecessarily. This overbreadth directly undermines our attractiveness as an investment destination.” Crucially, John emphasized that the core safeguard requiring registration for any external company that holds a legal or equitable interest in local land remains completely intact, as does the existing requirement that all foreign land purchasers obtain a government license before completing a transaction. All opposition claims that the changes open the door to unregulated foreign land grabs are categorically false, he said.

The bill also overhauls the jurisdiction’s penalty regime for non-compliant external companies, replacing the previous system of uncapped daily fines — which stood at EC$350 per day for unregistered entities and EC$100 per day for late filing of core corporate changes — with capped monthly penalties. Gonsalves has attacked this change as an unfair giveaway to rule-breaking companies and negligent legal professionals, particularly highlighting the included six-month amnesty that allows delinquent firms to settle outstanding penalties at a 50% discount, with temporary suspension of strike-off procedures.

John countered that the opposition is clinging to an outdated, punitive approach to corporate regulation that prioritizes punishment over fostering a thriving, compliant business ecosystem. “By moving to capped penalties, we are sending a clear signal that we want regulatory compliance, not corporate bankruptcy,” he explained. He also noted that the extension of the corporate filing window from 30 to 60 days is not a gesture of leniency, but a practical adjustment to modern administrative realities that gives business owners a reasonable timeframe to organize their compliance requirements without facing immediate punitive action. Even in civil litigation, he pointed out, rules allow for relief from sanctions when deadlines are missed, and the same reasonable philosophy should apply to corporate regulation.

On the controversial amnesty provision, John framed the measure as both compassionate and economically pragmatic. He argued that the opposition’s claims of the government “giving away” hundreds of thousands in uncollected penalties ignores the reality that most cross-border penalty debts are effectively uncollectable. Pursuing international debt collection or litigation is often prohibitively expensive, in many cases costing more than the value of the debt itself, a reality that left the previous ULP administration unable to collect on millions in outstanding penalty liabilities, he said.

John also called out the opposition for hypocrisy, noting that ULP governments granted more than EC$624.1 million in tax and business concessions between 2002 and 2025, including EC$152.3 million in concessions in 2025 alone. “We can forfeit more than 600 million dollars in public revenue through concession programs, but the opposition insists on making a political spectacle over a limited relief program designed to bring companies back into formal compliance,” he said. He further jabbed at the ULP, noting that the only recent legislation that truly qualifies as “legal gymnastics” was the former administration’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which resulted in hundreds of public sector workers losing their jobs for non-compliance.

John also directly addressed Gonsalves’ warning that the amendments would weaken beneficial ownership transparency and put St. Vincent and the Grenadines at risk of reputational damage with global regulatory bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force. He reiterated that all core land ownership registration requirements remain in place, and that the amendment does nothing to deregulate foreign ownership of local land. All foreign purchasers remain subject to licensing and registration requirements, meaning opposition claims of unregulated foreign land takeovers are entirely unfounded. In closing, John reiterated that the opposition’s warnings are nothing more than a calculated effort to stoke public anxiety for political gain, rather than a fair or accurate assessment of the bill’s content.

A sharp political clash has erupted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ parliament over the controversial Companies (Amendment) Bill 2026, with ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) Senator Lavern King dismissing opposition leader Ralph Gonsalves’ criticisms as unsubstantiated speculation lacking factual backing. Gonsalves, a veteran lawyer who led the previous Unity Labour Party (ULP) administration from 2001 to 2025, had raised sweeping objections to the new legislation, claiming it posed risks related to legal malpractice and reputational harm involving foreign firms and local legal practitioners. But in her formal response to the opposition leader’s debate address, King pushed back hard against these claims, arguing that Gonsalves had failed to produce any verifiable evidence or data to support his sweeping allegations.

King emphasized that the opposition’s arguments were nothing more than empty rhetoric and speculative statements, noting that even with Gonsalves’ own background as a legal professional, he presented no concrete facts to back up claims about lawyers benefiting from or facing legal threats under the new law. “As usual, the leader of the opposition expects this honourable House to accept his unverified and speculative say-so. You have to do better than that,” King told parliament.

At its core, the 2026 amendment, which the NDP government has already enacted, reverses restrictive 2016 corporate regulations put in place during Gonsalves’ ULP administration. King framed the reform as a much-needed relief for local and international businesses operating in the country, unlocking growth by rolling back what she described as overly restrictive and suffocating rules. The legislation, she argued, reflects a fundamental ideological divide between the current NDP government and the former ULP administration over the role of the private sector in national development.

King contended that the ULP’s long-standing governing philosophy centered on competing with the private sector rather than fostering an enabling environment for it to grow. This outdated approach, she said, left St. Vincent and the Grenadines with a rigid, uncompetitive legislative framework for business that acted as a major deterrent to foreign investment. She added that the country was an outlier among Caribbean nations for the excessive, disproportionate penalties it imposed on corporate entities, and that this restrictive regime was the real source of reputational harm for the jurisdiction — not the reforms the NDP has advanced.

The amendment is part of the NDP administration’s broader economic agenda, which the party campaigned on when it won office nine months prior. King stressed that the bill delivers on a key campaign promise to remove structural barriers holding back investment and productivity, calling it a concrete fulfillment of the government’s commitment to revitalize the private sector. She pointed to a slate of other pro-growth, household-focused policies the government has already implemented since taking office: regularizing employment for daily-paid workers, instituting a no-new-tax budget, mandating local subcontracting for foreign contractors, increasing public assistance and juror pay, introducing VAT-free shopping periods, eliminating select school fees, and moving forward with plans to establish a national development bank. All of these measures, King noted, align with the administration’s goal of easing financial burdens on households and stimulating private sector initiative.

Positioning the reform as a critical step toward opening St. Vincent and the Grenadines to global investment, King argued that small island developing states depend on welcoming regulatory frameworks to attract global partners. “Investors have choices. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, therefore, needs a legal and regulatory framework that says plainly and without qualification, we are open for business, we are open for partnership, and we are open for investment. This bill is one deliberate and practical step in building that framework,” she said.

King further clarified the NDP government’s governing approach, rejecting the notion that the state should directly control economic growth. “Government does not create every business. Government does not create every job. What government does, as a matter of fact, and what government can do, is create, administer, and reform the legal and regulatory environment within which businesses must operate,” she explained. Framing the reform as “clearing the legal undergrowth”, King said the government’s role is not to pick winning industries or manufacture prosperity through executive decree, but to remove outdated rules that trip up entrepreneurs and job creators.

Responding directly to Gonsalves’ claim that the bill amounts to a dangerous giveaway to delinquent foreign companies and well-connected lawyers, King rejected the assertion that the government is rolling back critical regulatory safeguards. She stressed that all core regulatory obligations — including requirements for corporate registration, financial filing, and mandatory reporting — remain fully intact. “What this bill removes is not the regulation itself, but the requirements, timelines, and penalties that this government, after careful review, considers unnecessary, impractical, or simply disproportionate to the conduct they were meant to address,” she concluded.