Regardless of which angle one looks at the ULP regime, it is now a lame duck. The alleged indecent assault and unlawful sexual intercourse that was filed against Dr Ralph Gonsalves, has damaged the ULP regime and made it a lame duck in people’s perception in SVG and abroad.

In the light of this monumental change in the political landscape of SVG, the SVG Green Party is calling on the lame duck ULP regime to give lands taken for the Argyle airport back to the previous owners. As the opposition parties do not support the construction of the Argyle airport, the ULP regime should not prolong the suffering and headache for the people who have had their lands taken.

Some people in the proposed Argyle airport area are still in limbo, not sure whether they are going to be moved or not. The ULP regime should tell them now that the Argyle airport is not going to go ahead, since a new government in SVG will not continue the Argyle airport project.

The Argyle airport was meant to be the ULP regime’s economic flagship, using mass tourism to stimulate the economy. The original plan was ill-conceived and lacked economic intelligence, as it had a big dependency component for funds from abroad. Now this plan has fallen to pieces just like the ULP regime. The ULP regime is a lame duck and no sensible foreign government or private investor would give money to the ULP regime for the Argyle airport project, knowing that a new government will not continue with the Argyle airport.

The majority of the people in the Argyle airport vicinity were forced from their beautiful dream homes under the pretence that the ULP regime was capable and ready to build the Argyle airport. It was a ‘pie in the sky’ project based on begging for funds from abroad. Every effort should be made now by the lame duck ULP regime to bow to reality and return these lands to the previous owners and assist people who wish to return to their homes. Likewise, give back the lands taken to be used for the ill-fated cross country road too, as that project is doomed. The calamity within the ULP regime is a blessing to SVG, as our watersheds will be saved now that the cross country road cannot be built.

An SVG Green Party government would focus on reducing the spiralling high cost of living, employment and revenue creation, abolishing VAT and providing free education from preschool to university which will be the economic lifeline in SVG’s sustainable development. An SVG Green Party government would build a strong economy without reliance on mass tourism. This strong economy would provide a high standard of living for all, including high quality healthcare.

All the countries in the Caribbean that have focused on mass tourism are heavily in debt. One need only look at Barbados – money comes in but most of it leaks out. The Argyle airport is a dead project. The Argyle airport project should be buried now once and for all.