Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Europe experienced multiple waves of witch hunts driven by religious wars and conflicts in the wake of the Reformation. Knowledge of that past savagery should feed our insight into the atrocities of slavery and remind us of man’s inhumanity. Even with the growth of the intellect, we still witness the violence perpetrated by man upon his fellow man. Violent attacks are more prevalent when fuelled by politics and politicians. Only the refinement of education and consciousness of a higher spiritual and more perfect being offer hope and new insight into the rise of criminal activity whenever political turmoil is spun by politicians. The Motion of No Confidence by the leader of the opposition is aimed at creating an exaggerated environment of mischief with a disregard for the peaceful pursuit of social and economic development which the government is pursuing.
In 1979 this island’s capital almost experienced an orgy of self-inflicted destruction by the party that had just won the general elections. Historians will slant this event however they wish, but the fact remains that the destruction was directed by the people who had won the elections. Now, sadly, it’s the progeny of that same party, that between 1997 and 2016 enjoyed fifteen years in political office, who seem hell-bent on causing as much chaos and doubt in the capital city as previously existed.
Out of the blue, a no-confidence resolution, which seemed to spring from nowhere, is being presented by the leader of the opposition with intent to get rid of the prime minister. Whether or not one thinks of this as terror, there is little doubt in my mind that this is what it is. It began the moment Allen Chastanet was elected political leader of the United Workers Party and it was accentuated on June 6, 2016 when the people voted his party into office.
These shameless opposition people have accused the government of committing crimes against the people of Saint Lucia, behaving as if we, the people, have just arrived here from Mars. We witnessed the wild expenditures that yielded no completed results. We saw prestigious national awards granted to total foreign strangers. We are still paying the consequences of the unprosecuted IMPACS report and the withdrawal of American assistance for training our police. No one knows where the promised research lab and hospital for diabetic patients disappeared to. No one has accounted for the excessive expenditures at St. Jude Hospital or from stopping the school bus subsidy for our rural school children. No one mentioned the numerous square pegs that were placed in round holes in the government and who disappeared when the people said enough was enough in 2016.
The charges against Allen Chastanet are frivolous and vexatious. They are often trivial and fabricated fake news and lies. But the new UWP, under Chastanet, seems as determined as the old to keep a stoic silence, preferring to allow time and its work to speak for the party. In my political book, one must be constantly moving on at least three fronts. It’s okay to let your work speak for you but you must always be prepared to fight fire with fire, even as you plan and execute new capital projects.
The SLP’s worst fears were realized when the electorate handed the Chastanet-led UWP an 11-6 mandate to govern. It was the party’s first victory at the polls without its legendary leader Sir John Compton. The victory resulted from a determined team effort. The SLP has still not accepted that defeat. It behaves as if the people had no right to vote it out of office. A government that refuses to respect the will of the people has no right to govern. The SLP has always been a sore loser. It showed it by the refusal to congratulate the winning prime minister, and by the demonstrated lack of respect in parliament. The SLP made it clear that it intends to do all in its power to frustrate the UWP government and its ambitious development projects. The no-confidence motion is another ruse in its efforts to overturn the peoples’ decision of June 2016. The contempt for the Saint Lucian electorate is palpable.
The SLP even seems to question the constitutional five-year period to which the government was elected. I am saddened that Philip J. Pierre, who is better off and more intelligent than most of his colleagues, should appear to be following the advice offered by the angry and frustrated people that surround him and who are willing to sacrifice this country’s potential in their own short-term interests.
I supported Allen Chastanet as political leader of the UWP because I felt he would receive public support as prime minister. I therefore feel it okay to offer the following advice at this time. As a patriotic Vieux Fortian I wish to see St. Jude hospital completed, the sooner the better. About 30 or so years ago, I watched the Olympic Games from a bed at St. Jude Hospital. Besides the speedy completion of St. Jude, I wish to see those who participated in the squandering of monies intended for that hospital brought to justice. It’s time for someone to answer for the wastage of taxpayer dollars on the reconstruction of St Jude Hospital. I would like to see the prime minister take personal charge of the HIA project, the hotel at Choiseul village, the commencement of the new Sandals Hotel, the completion of desilting of the John Compton Dam and the opening of the Owen King-EU Hospital. In the next few weeks he must focus like a laser beam on these projects. It’s time for the Helen of the West to rise and shine like the city on the hill it was meant to be. It’s time to destroy the witch hunters and purveyors of fake news and give our people a chance to breathe freely and enjoy themselves.
Obviously I am writing in advance of the no-confidence debate. My only concern is how much time a busy government should waste answering every criticism and lie from the opposition. Only one person from the government should answer for the purposes of Hansard. The government must stop the idle talk in the House and get back to work. There is too much still to be done. The no-confidence motion should shame the SLP parliamentarians and supporters. It really is puerile nonsense, akin to a child playing with matches, and a danger to all!
