The impact of leadership on politics and Ebenezer Theodore Joshua and Robert Milton Cato

• Main Author: Westfield, Alwyn W
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center 2012
• Subjects: Political Science
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/306; http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1850&context=dissertations

This study examines the contributions of Joshua and Cato as government and opposition political leaders in the politics and political development of SVG. Checklist of variable of political development is used to ensure objectivity. Various theories of leadership and political development are highlighted. The researcher found that these theories cannot fully explain the conditions existing in small island nations like SVG. SVG is among the few nations which went through stages of transition from colonialism to associate statehood, to independence. This had significant effect on the people and particularly the leaders who inherited a bankrupt country with limited resources and persistent civil disobedience. With regards to political development, the mass of the population saw this as some sort of salvation for fulfillment of their hopes and aspirations. Joshua and Cato led the country for over thirty years. In that period, they have significantly changed the country both in positive and negative directions. These leaders made promises of a better tomorrow if their followers are prepared to make sacrifices. The people obliged with sacrifices, only to become disillusioned because they have not witnessed the promised salvation. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that in the process of competing for political power, these leaders have created a series of social ills in SVG. Discourses and other issues are centered on personality and political party loyalty. This has stifled loyalty to the state and helped to maintain an authoritarian system.