标签： Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

At a celebratory presentation ceremony held on the island of Bequia, senior officials from St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and Taiwan marked a decades-long bilateral partnership with the disbursement of EC$320,000 in educational bursaries to 524 local students spanning every academic level.

The need-based and merit-based awards are distributed under the long-running Taiwanese Human Resource Development Programme, a sustained education-focused initiative that dates back to 1998. This year’s cohort of recipients includes students attending primary, secondary, tertiary and technical-vocational institutions across SVG, including learners from outlying islands such as Bequia, Mustique and the Southern Grenadines. Senator Lavern King, Minister of State in SVG’s Ministry of Education, broke down the distribution of awards: 244 primary school students, 190 secondary school students, and 90 tertiary or technical-level learners have been selected for this year’s support. King emphasized that the bursary funds are earmarked to reduce financial barriers for students, covering essential costs ranging from transportation, school meals and uniforms to learning supplies, so that learners can attend classes without financial anxiety. Recipients are chosen either for outstanding academic achievement or for demonstrating remarkable resilience in overcoming personal and economic hardship, with King noting that every selected student has fully earned their award. She added that the SVG government’s commitment to inclusive education shapes the selection process, with targeted support prioritized for students with disabilities and learners from low-income, marginalized backgrounds, in line with the policy goal of leaving no student behind.

speaking at the ceremony, Taiwan’s ambassador to SVG Fiona Huei-Chun Fan outlined the enduring impact of the program, noting that more than 12,500 Vincentian students have benefited from the initiative over its 28-year run. The program aligns with Taiwan’s broader priority of investing in youth development and skills training, she explained, noting that “young people are not only vital to our present but also the bridge to our future.” Beyond the local bursary program, Fan added, Taiwan runs a suite of additional academic opportunities for Vincentian students, including youth employment and skills training schemes as well as full-degree Taiwan Scholarships. To date, 321 SVG students have completed bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees in Taiwan, studying high-demand fields ranging from agriculture and healthcare to culinary arts and technology. Fan encouraged this year’s bursary recipients to pursue future study opportunities in Taiwan, highlighting the island’s global leadership in advanced technology manufacturing to motivate learners. She noted that Taiwan ranks as the world’s 22nd largest economy and sixth in global competitiveness, producing 13% of the world’s laptops and an estimated 90% of global AI servers. Taiwan also manufactures roughly 20% of the individual components found in every iPhone, including the most critical and high-value parts: the processor that powers device performance, the modem for cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi chips, semiconductor components, and the premium camera lenses that serve as the phone’s “eye,” all designed or produced in Taiwan.

SVG Prime Minister Godwin Friday, who also serves as Member of Parliament for the Northern Grenadines constituency that includes Bequia, framed the educational partnership as far more than a formal government-to-government agreement. He emphasized that the program builds people-to-people ties that deepen bilateral cultural connections and outlast changes in political leadership. “It is a partnership between peoples,” he said. “When relations transcend governments and leaders and get down into the people… most importantly through education… that is a cultural deepening and a relationship that transcends just the level of government.”

Friday described investment in education as the most critical offering that the state and society can make to young people, noting that developed knowledge and personal ability, built on natural talent, are the most valuable assets any person can hold. He called on local educators to embrace their role as a vocation, pointing out that teaching shapes lives permanently: negative classroom experiences, thoughtless comments or dismissive treatment can leave lifelong scars on young learners, while supportive, engaged mentorship leaves a lasting positive impact. “What you do stays with them for life,” he said, urging teachers to approach their work with the seriousness and respect it deserves. He also offered guidance to parents, encouraging them to prioritize engaging with their children’s schoolwork, even when busy: if caregivers show disinterest in a child’s work, he noted, that child is likely to lose interest in their own learning.

Friday stressed that the partnership with Taiwan holds particular strategic value for SVG, which lacks large natural resource reserves such as oil, gold and minerals. For SVG, human capital is the nation’s most valuable core resource, he said, and long-term support from Taiwan has been critical to developing that asset. “We don’t have gold and silver, we don’t have oil, we don’t have any of those natural resources,” he said. “But we have the best, the most important one — the intelligence, the good health of our people, the goodwill of friends who would help us, like Taiwan, to achieve what we want to do in education.”

Friday expressed SVG’s deep gratitude for Taiwan’s 28 years of continuous educational commitment, which comes alongside 45 years of formal diplomatic ties between the two sides. He called for the partnership to continue for decades more, noting that the program builds the foundational human capital that SVG’s national development depends on.

Five months after a historic transfer of power in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a administrative misstep at the country’s official public information agency has sparked political controversy and led to the immediate placement of its acting director on administrative leave.

The chain of missteps began on a Tuesday earlier this month, when the Agency for Public Information (API) distributed an unsigned media advisory inviting reporters to a press conference hosted by newly elected Prime Minister Godwin Friday, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP). But in a startling mix-up, the advisory incorrectly labeled longtime former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves — who had left office five months prior after the NDP’s election win — as the sitting prime minister. Gonsalves, who led the country for 24 and a half years from March 2001 through November 2025, now serves as leader of the opposition Unity Labour Party (ULP).

Within hours, the API issued a second email asking media outlets to discard the original advisory. In that follow-up, acting director Nadia Slater made an unusual public admission that amplified the controversy: she described the mistake as “a genuine error with malicious intent” — a phrasing that immediately sparked widespread backlash. The agency quickly issued a third, formal press release-style correction to walk back the comment, clarifying that the blunder was purely an accidental administrative oversight. “There was NO disrespect, political motive, or malicious intent whatsoever,” the third statement emphasized.

The series of missteps, quickly dubbed a “comedy of errors” by observers, went viral on social media after local outlet iWitness News and other independent media organizations broke the story of the gaffe. As of Monday, the NDP administration has not issued any formal public comment on the incident or subsequent personnel action. However, multiple unnamed government and industry sources confirmed to iWitness News that just days after the incident, Slater was placed on paid administrative leave. One source added that Slater is unlikely to retain her leadership role at API under the current NDP administration, and will likely be reassigned to an equivalent-level position within the broader public service, consistent with civil service protocols.

The incident has reignited questions about the NDP administration’s decision to retain Slater as acting head of the sensitive government communications agency five months after taking power. One anonymous source familiar with internal government discussions told iWitness News that the choice to keep Slater in the role has long puzzled insiders, pointing to her well-documented partisan ties.

“It is not just that she campaigned openly for the Unity Labour Party during the 2025 election. Her actions after the election showed a particular disdain for the new government, even as she was head of the agency responsible for portraying the government in a positive light,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to address the media on the matter.

The source also noted that even the ULP, the party Slater openly supported, never appointed her to the permanent director role, passing her over for promotion at least three times in favor of external hires. Among those external appointees was Sean Rose, a former NDP hopeful who crossed party lines after an unsuccessful 2020 bid for the South Central Windward parliamentary seat, and went on to publicly back the ULP.

“These people include Sean Rose, who began supporting the ULP after his failed bid to become the NDP’s candidate in South Central Windward in the 2020 general election. Nadia was skipped over at least three times under a government that she supported but the NDP government kept her in the sensitive communication post for five months after they won,” the source added.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ national parliament has advanced two pieces of pro-worker legislation designed to strengthen financial protections for the country’s lowest-paid public service employees, sending both bills to a cross-party select committee for in-depth analysis and public consultation before a full parliamentary vote. Spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock, who oversees the Public Service portfolio, the two bills—the Daily Paid and Minor Salaried Officers (Compassionate Gratuity) Bill 2026 and the Pensions Amendment Bill 2026—target longstanding financial gaps for low-wage public sector workers. The Compassionate Gratuity Bill specifically creates a framework to provide one-time compassionate gratuity payments to eligible daily-wage and low-salaried public officers when they retire, or to their families if the worker dies while still in active service. Leacock told parliament that the bill stands to deliver critical financial relief to roughly 2,831 workers across the lowest public service pay grades, including grades L, M, and entry-level grades 1 and 2. The deputy prime minister shared that he would have pushed for an immediate parliamentary debate and vote to deliver the promised benefits to eligible workers as quickly as possible. However, he confirmed that the government, led by Prime Minister Godwin Friday, opted to prioritize broader public engagement by sending the legislation to a select committee, to ensure all stakeholders have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposals. “But it is the considered opinion of the Honourable Prime Minister and our colleagues that to the extent that this important bill that will grant relief to nearly 3,000 of our public servants, we allow for more public listening and interest in the subject matter,” Leacock told parliament. The cross-party select committee will include senior government members: Prime Minister Friday, Attorney General Louise Mitchell, Agriculture Minister Israel Bruce, Family, Gender Affairs and Labour Minister Laverne Gibson-Velox, Housing Minister Andrew John, and government senators Jemalie John and Chieftan Neptune. Three opposition members will also serve on the committee: Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves, and opposition senators Carlos James and Keisal Peters, marking a collaborative approach to reviewing the worker-focused legislation. The second piece of legislation, the Pensions Amendment Bill 2026, will also be reviewed by the same cross-party committee. This bill adjusts retirement rules for public officers holding non-pensionable positions, raising the compulsory retirement age from 60 to 65, while giving workers the voluntary option to retire as early as age 60 if they choose. Leacock explained that the reform responds to repeated requests from public servants approaching the traditional 60-year retirement age, many of whom face significant financial gaps after leaving work at 60 before they can access alternative support. “Simply put, every week we have coming before the Cabinet of this country public servants who attain the age of 60 and can’t take care of themselves between that and the retirement age, asking for extension of service,” Leacock said. He added that the policy change could encourage private sector employers to adopt similar reforms, addressing the urgent question many low-income non-pensionable workers face when they are forced to retire at 60: “How do I live for the next five years?” The bill creates a formal, structured avenue for workers to extend their service if they wish, closing a critical financial gap for this group. Leacock framed both pieces of legislation as core components of the administration’s bottom-up development agenda focused on lifting up vulnerable public sector workers. “We are providing them an avenue, another wonderful piece of legislation that builds a government, a country, the people from the ground up, from the bottom up, a new vision for the development of [the country],” he said. The deputy prime minister confirmed that the select committee will conduct its review and public outreach before returning the bills to parliament for full debate and a final vote, and teased that additional pro-worker reforms may be introduced in the future as part of the government’s commitment to supporting low-income public servants.

In a historic milestone for Antigua and Barbuda’s political landscape, Prime Minister Gaston Browne was officially sworn in for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term as head of government on Friday, mere hours after his ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) secured a landslide win in the snap May 30 general election.

Browne and Attorney General Steadroy “Cuttie” Benjamin took their oaths of office before Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, alongside all other newly elected ABLP candidates. The election, called by Browne nearly two years ahead of the constitutionally mandated deadline, delivered a lopsided result that underscored the ABLP’s overwhelming popular support. Official figures released by the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC) show the ruling party claimed 15 of the 17 available parliamentary seats. The remaining two seats were split between the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) and the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM), with just over 62.5 percent of registered voters turning out to cast their ballots.

Addressing attendees shortly after his inauguration, Browne framed the outcome as a clear, resounding mandate from the electorate. “That was a resounding victory. People spoke, and they spoke with clarity. They spoke resoundingly, and we’re very happy with the mandate that was given to us,” Browne said, noting that the strong victory comes with amplified responsibility he and his party are fully prepared to uphold.

The Prime Minister described his fourth consecutive term as a humbling honor that has only deepened his commitment to advancing the interests of Antigua and Barbuda’s people. He pledged accelerated national development across key sectors, promising to speed up ongoing infrastructure projects targeting two longstanding public concerns: road access and water access. “We’ll make sure that we continue to deliver for the people of Antigua and Barbuda. In fact, in terms of my own commitment, the fact that I was given a fourth term as prime minister, that in itself is a humbling experience, and that has served now to even strengthen my commitment to fight even harder for the people of Antigua and Barbuda and to deliver more for them,” Browne said. “So the people of Antigua and Barbuda will be seeing accelerated growth and development, accelerated infrastructural development, so the roadworks, the waterworks that we have started will be accelerated until we substantially resolve the water and road problems.”

He thanked voters for their patience during ongoing project implementation, noting that the election result confirmed residents trust the ABLP to solve critical national issues and recognize his personal dedication to driving sustained development that lifts living standards for all.

Looking ahead to cabinet formation, Browne announced that the full ministerial team will be named on Tuesday, with most senior roles retained by incumbent officials to ensure policy continuity amid major ongoing projects. “There will be familiar faces because a number of them are handling significant projects, and we want to ensure there’s continuity,” he explained. Highlighting key appointments, he confirmed that Daryll S. Matthew will remain in the education portfolio to continue ongoing sector expansion, while Chet Green will retain his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Browne noted that replacing Green ahead of the upcoming November Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference, which requires extensive advance planning, would be unwise. He also confirmed that his wife, Maria Browne, will continue to serve as Minister of Public Works, crediting her with proven ability to manage multiple cross-constituency projects effectively.

Newly elected ABLP representatives will first serve as junior ministers for a training period, Browne confirmed, a structure designed to avoid an overly large, bloated government while preparing emerging leaders for future senior roles. “Again, we don’t want to have a bloated government by having all senior ministers. We will have some junior ministers, again, as a form of training and development so that they, too, can blossom into senior ministers eventually and to better serve the people of Antigua and Barbuda,” he said.

Prior to the inauguration, Browne — who has already received congratulatory messages from regional leaders across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other international partners — thanked God for the victory and expressed gratitude to voters for their overwhelming support. “To God be the glory. Great things he has done,” he said. “You have spoken with clarity, you have spoken resoundingly, and you would have certainly spoken with truth, and in essence would have put to shame all of the lies that have been peddled, all of the disinformation, all of the misinformation, all of the vitriolic rhetoric.”

The Prime Minister used his inaugural address to call for a new era of more civil, responsible politics across Antigua and Barbuda, warning that toxic misinformation erodes social fabric and damages the country’s international reputation. As a small island nation in an interconnected global world, falsehoods spread locally travel far beyond the country’s borders, shaping unfair negative perceptions among international observers who lack on-the-ground context, he explained. “I’m hoping that with such a resounding victory that there will be a new dispensation going forward. I’m hoping that our politics will become more civil. I’m hoping that politicians on both sides of the aisle will stand on the truth, because at the end of the day, the misinformation, disinformation, the falsities, they are literally eroding the fabric of our society, and they are destroying our country,” Browne said. “So, I’m hoping going forward that we will see greater loyalty to our state and its people, and that politicians should understand that misinformation, disinformation, and falsities, they only thrive for a short period of time. Ultimately, the truth will prevail.”

Browne argued that his opposition’s poor electoral performance stemmed directly from its embrace of harmful, misleading campaigning during the electoral cycle. He called on the UPP to learn from the defeat and pursue internal reform, noting that a strong, accountable opposition is healthy for Antigua and Barbuda’s democracy. “I would say that, having served in opposition, that I practise responsible politics, and I believe as a consequence that my own credibility within the domestic society would have grown. And I think that UPP should take note and to use this opportunity to reform, because at the end of the day, we want to have a strong opposition. We do not necessarily want to have a weak opposition. We want individuals who have the competence to continue to hold us accountable,” he said.

Repeating that his fourth consecutive term is a humbling honor, Browne reaffirmed his commitment to centering public welfare in all governance, stating that the landslide mandate presents a critical opportunity to unify the nation and advance inclusive development. “It’s about your empowerment, and I give you a commitment that I will work harder, that I will do all in my power to continue to work unrelentingly to advance the living standards of the people of Antigua and Barbuda,” he said. “the results provide a great opportunity for us to unite our nation, and to work towards improving all aspects of our development going into the future.”

Browne closed by taking personal responsibility for ensuring all cabinet members honor the public trust, warning that betrayal of that trust will not be tolerated. He reminded incoming ministers that their roles exist exclusively to serve all Antigua and Barbuda residents, require responsible stewardship of public funds, and demand zero discrimination, division, or corruption. “I can assure you that if it is betrayed, certainly will not be tolerated… it is important for those who will be appointed within the cabinet to understand that they will be appointed exclusively to serve the people of Antigua and Barbuda. Not to discriminate against anyone, not to undermine anyone, not to divide a country, not to steal public resources, but to be good stewards of public resources and to make sure that every cent of public resources is utilised for the development of the people of Antigua and Barbuda.”

In a high-stakes political move that has reshaped the landscape of Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s decision to call a snap general election nearly two years before its constitutionally mandated deadline has delivered a historic, resounding victory for his ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP).

Preliminary results released by the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC) confirm the ABLP secured 15 out of the 17 contested parliamentary seats, a dramatic reversal of the party’s narrow 9-7 majority win in the January 2023 poll. The landslide win also marks a historic milestone for Browne, who easily retained his long-held St. John’s City West seat – a constituency he has represented since 1999 – making him the first prime minister in the nation’s history to win four consecutive general elections.

Addressing jubilant supporters following the result, Browne expressed deep gratitude for the overwhelming public confidence placed in both his leadership and the ABLP’s agenda for continued national progress. “We are humbled and honoured by your support and confidence. Now is the time to move forward together, build on our gains and continue our work toward the betterment of our society and the upliftment of our people,” Browne wrote in a post on the ruling party’s official Facebook page.

Outlining his policy priorities for the new term, Browne emphasized that inclusive growth and expanded opportunity would remain at the core of his administration’s agenda. “Education, jobs, business opportunities will be open to all who are prepared to seize them. No one will be left behind who is willing to move forward,” he said, rejecting any suggestion of triumphalism after the landslide. “This is not a moment for gloating. The contest is over, and the 15-seat mandate is a resounding vote of confidence for which we are eternally grateful.”

Browne also stressed that the new term would see his administration accelerate ongoing national projects, advance new initiatives to strengthen the national economy, transform local communities, and improve living standards for all citizens. He called for collective productivity and national unity, noting that the government’s goal is to position Antigua and Barbuda as one of the most productive small island states in the world, while upholding national dignity in all regional and international forums. Notably, Browne’s wife Maria – the public works minister in the previous administration – also secured a comfortable win in the St. John’s Rural East constituency, defeating UPP candidate Ashworth Azille.

For the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP), the election result was a devastating blow: only party leader Jamale Pringle managed to hold onto his seat, defeating ABLP candidate Anthony Smith. On the sister isle of Barbuda, incumbent Trevor Walker of the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM) retained his seat, winning 609 votes against ABLP challenger Kendra Beazer’s 398. All three independent candidates contesting the election failed to gain traction, losing their deposits.

Pringle extended congratulations to the ABLP on their victory, telling supporters that the UPP would remain active in opposition. “There’s no second place in politics, but just as we did in 2018, we’ll still be standing. The UPP is not going anywhere,” he said.

Regional political analysts have weighed in on the historic result, pointing to deep internal divisions within the UPP as a key driver of the party’s collapse. Barbados-based pollster Peter Wickham, who conducted pre-election opinion polling, noted that the UPP’s strong 2023 performance, which saw the party win seven seats, had “completely evaporated” in this poll, with an overall five percent swing toward the ABLP across the mainland.

Local political analyst Professor Justin Robinson, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, observed that the result highlighted key weaknesses in the UPP’s leadership, noting that the electorate delivered a clear verdict on Browne’s leadership and the ABLP’s agenda. Robinson pointed out that Pringle, the only remaining UPP MP, is now the “only man standing” for the opposition, a dynamic that mirrors past election results in other Caribbean nations including St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Still, Wickham argued that Pringle’s retention of his seat is largely a product of long-standing constituency strength rather than public confidence in his national leadership, and called on him to step down as UPP leader to allow the party to rebuild with extra-parliamentary leadership.

Five months after the Unity Labour Party (ULP) ended its 24-year consecutive rule over St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), veteran opposition leader and former prime minister Ralph Gonsalves is leveraging a newly released International Monetary Fund economic assessment to mobilize his base and push for an early reversal of the electorate’s decision. The 80-year-old leader, who remains head of the ULP despite the party’s historic electoral defeat, laid out his political campaign in an hours-long broadcast on the ULP-owned Star Radio’s popular “Morning Comrade” show Wednesday.

In the December 2024 general election, the New Democratic Party (NDP) secured the most lopsided electoral victory in SVG since 1989, beating the ULP by more than 10,000 popular votes. The election saw a dramatic shakeup within the ULP: while Gonsalves retained his own parliamentary seat, both his son Camillo Gonsalves, the former finance minister, and Saboto Caesar, former agriculture minister and a leading contender to succeed the elder Gonsalves, lost their seats. With former deputy leader Montgomery Daniel, 70, retiring from politics last year, the ULP has not yet filled the deputy leadership position after delaying a vote at its 2022 convention.

On Tuesday, one day before Gonsalves’ broadcast, sitting Prime Minister Godwin Friday upheld his pledge to government transparency by hosting a joint press conference with the Washington-based IMF team to announce the preliminary findings of the fund’s annual Article IV Consultation, a routine assessment SVG completed during every ULP administration. Friday confirmed that while the IMF identified a need for targeted economic reform, his NDP government will develop a locally led economic stabilization program that centers national ownership of the recovery process. He also emphasized that policy adjustments will prioritize protecting the country’s most vulnerable vulnerable populations from hardship. The full IMF staff report and executive board concluding statement are expected to be published at a later date, with additional detail on the fund’s full assessment and policy recommendations.

Gonsalves seized on the consultation results to frame the new government’s economic approach as illegitimate, arguing that voters made a mistake when they ousted the ULP after more than two decades in power, and now have a political duty to correct that error as quickly as possible. He positioned the conflict as a clear clash of competing economic visions: rejecting what he called the IMF and NDP’s “austerity message,” he argued that the ULP’s platform prioritizes prudence, enterprise, and inclusive growth that benefits all segments of SVG society. Gonsalves called on all ULP party bodies, from constituency councils to national leadership, to activate immediately, announcing that a national council meeting is scheduled for next month to lay the groundwork for the ULP’s return to power.

This is not the first time in less than a month that Gonsalves has leveraged a current policy debate to rally ULP supporters. Earlier in February, he mobilized opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment put forward by the NDP, framing the change as a self-serving “insurance policy” the governing party introduced to counter the ULP’s ongoing election petitions, which challenge the eligibility of Friday and Foreign Affairs Minister Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble over their dual Canadian citizenship. Friday responded that the amendment will be referred to a parliamentary select committee, and no floor vote or debate will be held until broad public consultation is completed.