By Admin. Updated 10:23 p.m., Friday, May 17, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
A billboard depicting the homicide count of 2023 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has been erected by this country’s main opposition party even as hundreds of travel marketers and sports people are in the country.
The billboard was recently erected near Lowmans Leeward on the South Leeward Highway, the only throughway to access the Leeward side of the island where Sandals Resort is located.
It was erected by the main opposition New Democratic Party – NDP with the caption “There were 52 homicides in 2023. Crime is out of control. The NDP has a plan to make SVG safe again”.
This country noted a record 55 homicides in 2023 after a previous record total of 42 was recorded in 2022.
Some Vincentians have expressed anger over of the move on the social media platform – Facebook.
Some people said though the information is accurate and something needs to be done about the crime situation, the timing of the billboard is wrong. Others have said facts are facts.
Sandals’ St. Vincent and the Grenadines is hosting hundreds of travel marketers who are trying to sell the destination and the country is hosting cricketers from Nepal and ICC officials.
One of the critics of the billboard is this country’s Consul General to Canada and Marketing professional – Mr. Fitzgerald Huggins.
In a Facebook post on Friday, he said:
“I am tagging the President of the WICB on this post. How could anyone say you support the hosting of the WC and then place this billboard in full view of the same players that will be here to play in the T20 WC so they will see it on their way to the hotel? Spiteful and unpatriotic!!!”
The Public Relations Officer of the NDP Lavern King responded to some of the criticisms online, including that of the Consul General, saying:
“To those who find the billboard highlighting the 52 homicides in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2023 inappropriate, and that now isn’t the right time, I ask: When exactly is the right time to discuss this issue? Do we wait until 10 more people have died? The truth is, this billboard is not inappropriate. What is inappropriate is the fact that we have such a severe crime problem, and the number of homicides speaks for itself.”
She said: “To my buddy Fitz Huggins, don’t be tagging the president of the WICB, what’s the logic there? Tag the Prime Minister and minister of national security who is failing as his job. Ask him where is the plan to deal with this crisis?”
“This issue should not be swept under the rug as if it doesn’t exist. The real obscenity is not the billboard but the alarming number of homicides and the government’s lax approach to crime and violence. We are facing one of the highest murder rates in the entire world, and this is what is truly damaging—not the billboard, but the reality it reveals,” the NDP’s PRO added in her post.
“To those concerned about the impact on our tourism product, let me clarify: the real damage comes from ignoring this crisis. The Unity Labour Party (ULP) would prefer we turn a blind eye to this dire situation, but we cannot and will not do that. The minister of national security needs to take immediate and decisive action to address our crime crisis,” she said.
“The raw truth displayed on that billboard is a wake-up call. It is a call to action for our government to take the necessary steps to protect our citizens and restore safety to our communities. The NDP stands committed to confronting this issue head-on and ensuring that the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines can live in a safer, more secure environment,” she added.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has blamed the easy access to guns in the U.S. and young people who have a fascination with guns as part of the reason for the increased number of gun-related deaths here.
Many Vincentians are of the view that the homicides being recorded are drug-related and the result of criminal elements in the country “taking out each other” in reprisal fashion, and that the rest of the country is unscathed.
Still, many have expressed grave concerns and the need for more action to reduce the incidences of gun violence.
Recently, a national Firearm Amnesty Programme was launched by the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, but as of May 16, only 13 firearms and 291 rounds of ammunition were handed in.
The amnesty ends on May 31 and will be followed by stuffer penalties for illegal firearm possession.
The government has also announced the introduction of high-tech scanners at the ports of entry to detect weapons after several high-powered rifles and ammunition were detected coming through the ports.
One News SVG 