Former minister pays tribute to late Vincentian PM
By Nelson A. King
A former minister in the New Democratic Party
(NDP) administration in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
has joined with the people of the multi-island
state in extending condolences to the family of the
late Prime Minister Sir James Fitz-Allen “Son” Mitchell,
founder and first president of the NDP.
Sir James, who died on Nov. 23, was accorded a
State Funeral on Saturday. He was 90.
Bernard Wyllie — a former minister of Trade, Consumer
Affairs, CARICOM Affairs, Agriculture, Labor,
Forestry and Fisheries, in Mitchell’s administration,
from 1989 to 1998, who also served as a Minister
Counsellor, from 1999 to 2001, under Mitchell’s reign,
at the Mission of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to
the United Nations – told Caribbean Life over the
weekend that Sir James was “highly regarded and
respected as an astute, unique, political leader and
statesman not only in the Caribbean but throughout
Africa, Europe, and North and South America.”
Wyllie, who also serves as public relations officer of
the Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Progressive Organization of New York (SPOONY), the
NDP’s New York arm, said Sir James was “known for
his political shrewdness, having served as a minister
of Agriculture and Trade in the St. Vincent Labor
Party (SVLP) administration of the day.
“He later fell out of favor with the Labor Party and
ran independently in 1972,” he said. “In an election,
which resulted in a tie of six-six, Sir James was able
to negotiate his way into the premiership by joining
with the People’s Political Party (PPP).”
With the collapse of the “Junta” administration,
as it was pejoratively called, in 1974, Mitchell, a year
later, formed the NDP, Wyllie noted.
“He was the lone voice in the opposition for many
Caribbean Life, D 8 ecember 24-30, 2021
years, notably speaking for several days in budget
debates, a platform which he used to attract the
hearts and minds of the people by his eloquence, his
research and mastery of facts and figures,” Wyllie
said. “This continued until Calder Williams won the
North Leeward seat, giving the NDP its first seat on
the mainland.”
In 1982, Wyllie said he joined the NDP, “which I
have been a member to this day.” In 1984, the NDP
defeated the SVLP at the polls, which began a 17-year
reign, with Sir James as prime minister. He retired as
prime minister in 2000.
“His contribution to national and regional development
was, undoubtedly, legendary,” said Wyllie,
stating that Sir James was a founding member of the
Caribbean Democratic Union (CDU), an alliance of
“center right” political parties in the Caribbean. “The
CDU continues to advance the values of good government
practices that is fiscally responsible and socially
compassionate, where people remain the center of all
development.
“Sir James was a supporter and ardent advocate of
regional integration,” he added. “He devoted a considerable
amount of his time in fostering regional cooperation
and unity between the islands of the Caribbean,
but, more so, in the OECS (sub-regional Organization
of Eastern Caribbean States)/Windward Islands.”
“He walked with kings, queens, presidents, prime
ministers and academics, but he never lost his common
touch,” Wyllie added. “He was at ease in the
marketplace with the vendors as he would be in
the halls of justice. He never paraded our streets in
armored vehicles with a caravan of security escorts.
“Sir James was a father figure, a mentor, a counselor,
a leader, a visionary, a political leader and a hero,” he
continued. “Like many Vincentians, irrespective of
one’s political leaning, once you have encountered Sir
James Mitchell, it is an experience that you will not
forget. He leaves an indelible impression on your mind
as he challenges you to be your better self.”
Sir James, a former Member of Parliament for the
Northern Grenadines, died a few days after he was
discharged from the Intensive Care Unit at the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital in neighboring Barbados, where
he was transported to after falling ill at his home in
Bequia, the largest and most northern of the Grenadine
islands, on Oct. 30.
The Office of Prime Minister Gonsalves said Sir
James, who represented the Grenadines for a total of
33 years, was the multi-island state’s second prime
minister, serving in that capacity from 1984 to 2000.
He also served as premier from 1972 to 1974.
Left to Right; Sir James Mitchell, Fidel Castro,
Alpian Allen ,Bernard Wyllie and Alfred Bynoe.
Bernard Wyllie
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