By Val Matthias. Updated 9:16 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Opposition Leader Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has declared he is prepared to face imprisonment, if necessary, as he condemned the government’s move to block citizens from completing payments on lands they were previously offered.
Speaking on his *Good Morning Comrade* program, Gonsalves accused the ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) of “playing with fire” by halting transactions at the Lands and Surveys Department, leaving dozens of families in limbo. He cited the case of a man from South Central Winward who had already paid thousands toward a parcel of land, only to be told further payments would not be accepted.
“This is a government of laws, not of men an offer was made, the offer was accepted, the man is making payments. How could you not give him the land? Because a minister think he got power?” Gonsalves asked.
Dr Gonsalves who turns 80 in August this year said “They want to do me harm, but the worst you can do to me is to accelerate my demise on the earthly city, and I am not worried about that if the worst you can do to me is jail, I am not worried, I am ready to go to jail if it means defending the poor people’s rights.”
He urged affected citizens to seek legal redress and not be intimidated. “Do not be afraid of the dark, in the storm. Walk through the wind, walk through the rain. You are not alone,” he told listeners, pointing to the Unity Labour Party’s People’s Defence Committees as support structures. He vowed that the opposition would not allow what he called “advances we have made” to be reversed.
Dr. Ralph Gonsalves frames the NDP’s actions as politically motivated, accusing them of undermining citizens’ rights and treating land distribution as a partisan tool. He further said “offer letters from Lands and Surveys constitute binding agreements, meaning citizens who began payments could argue in court that the government is breaching contractual obligations.
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