The rigours of political leadership in small, poor countries

Fri, Apr 27. 2012

The recent illness of Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, which forced him to postpone a planned visit to the Middle East, brings into sharp focus the rigours of life which face our political leaders in the Caribbean, especially those in office.{{more}}

Whilst sudden, it is perhaps not surprising that Dr Gonsalves has had to pull up short of his course, this time. His has been a most punishing schedule, not just of late, but continuously since he took up the leadership of St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2001. That schedule has taken him to virtually every nook and cranny in our country, but also to almost every hill and vale in the five continents. There are those who believe that foreign travel for Dr Gonsalves is a joyride; the reality is far different.

This is especially so, if one has a deep commitment to the cause of one’s people. Leaders and representatives of small countries like ours, with limited human and material resources must make 10 to 20 times the effort of leaders of resource-rich countries with their armies of officials to do the ‘donkey work’ for them.

It is therefore not surprising that the Caribbean has a relatively high casualty rate among Prime Ministers. Dominica lost two of theirs in office, as did Barbados, Guyana and Grenada while a similar fate has befallen the islands of St Lucia, Jamaica, St Kitts/Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago. Only St Vincent and the Grenadines has been spared such a national tragedy thus far. It is food for sombre reflection.

This means that not only must our countries seek to preserve and prolong the life of our scarce human resources, but we need as well to deepen and widen the participation of our citizens in the governance of their affairs and to always have succession planning on the cards. Yet, given the nature of Caribbean politics and the failure (including by the leaders themselves), to fundamentally change the nature of our political process, we are left with not a richly endowed political pool. Worse, all too often, our politics seem to attract either the wrong type of people or persons who appear to be involved for the wrong reasons.

Whatever one’s view of Dr Gonsalves and his politics, his state of well-being must be of concern to the country as a whole, and, we dare say, to the wider Caribbean. He is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding of Caribbean leaders whose influence extends far beyond these sun-kissed shores of ours. He, however, in his unbridled enthusiasm, sometimes tends to take on too heavy a workload, which must have contributed to his setback.

The enforced rest of the past week is as much a reminder to Dr Gonsalves that he is but human, with limited physical capacities, as it is to us all, that the burden of socio-economic development must be shared by us all. It re-emphasizes the need for the further democratization and decentralization of our political processes. It also sends a message to the two political tribes which dominate our politics about the urgency of helping to equip a committed younger generation for political leadership.

SEARCHLIGHT wishes the Prime Minister a speedy recovery.