Gonsalves accused of mismanaging St Vincent economy

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Mar 17, CMC - Opposition leader Arnhim Eustace has accused Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of bringing the Vincentian economy to its worst state since the country gained independence in 1979.

In an address to the New York chapter of the New Democratic Party (NDP), on Saturday, Eustace accused the current administration of mismanaging the economy.

“Let him (Gonsalves) dispute that. In 2012, to our eternal shame, St. Vincent and the Grenadines exported EC$1.1 million in bananas. We used to do that in a week,” Eustace said, noting that the country’s record in banana earning for any one year is EC$111 million.

He complained that the EC$799 million budget approved by lawmakers in January includes a deficit of $126 million and spoke of the specific ways in which this affects citizens.