Emancipation Cricket Festival costing taxpayers 'about $750,000' - iWitness News

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The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is spending at least EC$750,000 to host the Emancipation Cricket Festival, which is taking place at Arnos Vale through Sunday night.

"I don't have the final number, but it would be, I will think, in the region of about $750,000," Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Boom FM on Tuesday when asked about the price tag of the tournament.

"I'm giving you a back-of-the-envelope number because I had seen last week at Cabinet a number provided by the committee," Gonsalves said.

"Of course, some of that would relate to some numbers where you may get some in-kind stuff. So that may take care of some of the expenses," Gonsalves said.

He noted that the One Family Concert held in 2023 to commemorate Emancipation Day cost the government EC$500,000.

Four teams are taking part in the competition, and there are a number of non-national players among them.

Gonsalves said he was told that the players are not charging to appear in the tournament.

"I believe -- the players who are coming are not -- the advice that I've received -- are not charging monies in the sense of professional fees," he told radio listeners.

"I think a stipend is accorded them. Listen, Keswick Williams is the man who organised those guys from outside. ... a lot of them coming to do Keswick and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and West Indies cricket a favour."

Gonsalves made it clear that he was talking about "West Indies cricket" and not "Cricket West Indies" (CWI).

"We are trying to see if we can make sure that West Indies cricket is properly grounded in the people and have legitimacy there," said Gonsalves," said Gonsalves, who was chair of CARICOM's Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket from 2016 to 2023.

"Cricket West Indies doesn't have legitimacy among the people," he said.

Some political observers have said that the hastily-organised tourname is part of the Gonsalves government's attempt to outdo Cricket West Indies in commemoration of 50 years since the West Indies Men's Cricket team won the One Day International World Cricket Cup in 1975.

CWI honoured the surviving members of the team during a gala event in Barbados, attended by that country's prime minister, Mia Mottley.

Political observers have said that while the Unity Labour Party (ULP) hopes that the cricket tournament will shore up its chances as it seeks a sixth consecutive term in office later this year, it is targeted specifically at Kishore Shallow, president of a candidate for the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP).

Shallow will challenge North Windward MP, the ULP's Carlos James, who won the seat in 2020 by one vote after a contentious recount.

Asked if he thought that Shallow would be invited to the cricket festival, Gonsalves said, "I don't know if comrade Carlos James has invited him. I could inquire about that. ... The president of Cricket West Indies is the least of my concerns."

Shallow, a former national and Windward Islands cricketer, has said publicly that he did not expect to be invited to the event.

He has also said that he would be supporting the athletes taking part in the 100th Windward Islands School Games, which wraps up later on Saturday, with SVG last on 19 point, 4 less than St. Lucia.

Dominica leads the point standing, with 38, one less than Grenada.

The government might be hoping that the euphoria of cricket under floodlight at Arnos Vale Sporting Complex lasts longer than it did in June 2024, when SVG hosted games in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Two weeks after the games ended, Hurricane Beryl ravaged the country, turning all attention to response and, later, recovery, which is still ongoing.

Vincentians are widely expected to elect a new government by November, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.