No time for political partisanship
WE ARE IN FULL AGREEMENT that the task facing this tiny country of ours in the wake of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Beryl is a “humongous one” as Prime Minister Gonsalves said. Conceivably, it may even be larger than we have been able to assess up to now, and we are still at the beginning of the hurricane season. When our country faces such a major threat to our collective well- being and development we need all hands on board. All of us, Government, Opposition, citizens, residents and Vincentians overseas, must band together for the good of the country, its people and especially its children.
Since the hurricane passed there have been many appeals and expressions of unity and solidarity. We are happy that the Parliamentary Opposition gave its support to the passage of the Bill to provide resources for meeting the emergency needs and express our appreciation to them for that. However, we all must go further.
Government must ensure that invitations are open to the Opposition, especially the Parliamentary representatives of the Grenadines people, to participate fully in the relief and recovery efforts, and they in turn must see it as their sacred responsibility to participate and play a positive role. However, there must be a genuine spirit of dialogue and cooperation which can only inspire our people to do the same. This is no time for political grandstanding.
Unfortunately, there are both politicians and others of “no good purpose” in our society who either do not understand the gravity of our situation or are unwilling to put national interests before partisan ones. Such a dialectical approach seems beyond some persons, and it reflects itself time and again in situations requiring national effort.
We have experienced such unfortunate displays of what can only amount to a lack of patriotism time and again when faced with critical national tasks. Whether it was the construction of the national airport, national disasters, or the planned construction of the referral hospital at Arnos Vale, there seems to be an inability among some to separate national tasks from political support for the governing party. These are two separate and distinct tasks.
We are already too politically divided, and we must say that is not just the fault of the Opposition, actions by those with governing responsibilities have contributed too. But when faced with the kinds of calamitous situation as that which now confronts us, we need to be on the same page.
It would be well for those in the Opposition to reflect on the negative approaches of the Parliamentary Opposition in the wake of the 1979 volcanic eruption. Rather than lend to the national effort, leading Opposition figures spent time visiting emergency shelters and spreading all kinds of negative propaganda. Granted, the approach of the government then was a far cry from that of the present, but undermining the national effort did not help. Our people are not stupid and in the elections which followed the eruption, both Opposition parties lost heavily. Think on these things!
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