Last week, the House opposition leader Philip J. Pierre called for an official investigation into the authenticity of a circulating letter bearing what is claimed to be MP Guy Joseph’s signature. Most recently, Pierre demanded that PM Allen Chastanet relieve Guy Joseph of his Economic Development portfolio, should the signature prove authentic. Never a soft target, Joseph fired back this week.
“I have called for the report from the Robert Lindquist investigation, initiated against me by the previous government at a cost of over $3 million,” he said on Monday during the government’s regular press briefing. “Surely there must be something better in there to warrant my resignation.”
As for Pierre: “It has now been established, and the Honorable Guy Joseph has not denied, the letter is authentic and has only sought to hide behind a claim of his Ministry’s documents being classified.”
Joseph has persistently refused to take seriously what he refers to as something from social media. “I say the Opposition Leader is just a fool. That’s what he is. To ask me to resign or to ask the PM to take action on the basis of a letter of dubious origin is absurd. I can only account for the genuine letters from my ministry.”
Typically, the Castries South East MP launched his own smart bomb at his accuser: “You mean to tell me a man who stood as minister of tourism, trade, industry, commerce, infrastructure, ports; who was declared deputy prime minister, does not know enough about the procurement guidelines for contracts in Saint Lucia? This is sad, when you consider this same man aspires to be this country’s prime minster, that he would stoop to whatever level to get at me. How could an MP of his experience be so foolish as to not know what is and what is not a contractual arrangement? There’s a process. Not even the prime minister can commit the government to a guarantee until it goes to parliament.”
He questioned Pierre’s moral authority in the matter, recalling he was deputy prime minister at the births of Rochamel and Grynberg. “Now don’t misunderstand me,” said Joseph. “Two wrongs can never be right. So, I’m not saying that if I did something unlawful I could claim it to be all right, just because others before me did not do things by the book.”
Joseph went on: “If the letter is made a public document, then that’s it. We are in government. We are bound by the oath of office that we take. If anybody thinks that this letter is authentic then they know the steps to follow. If they think that the minister has acted inappropriately, there are ways to deal with this. There’s the parliamentary process they can use. Then there are the courts. If they believe this minister has acted inappropriately, then make him pay the price!”
Pierre’s reaction: “I’m not going to get involved in any back and forth with Guy Joseph. If Guy Joseph did not sign the letter, he has to say, ‘I did not sign it.’ That’s all. And I am saying that if he did not sign it, it’s a fraud, so call the police. Guy Joseph must stop this politics of umbrage. He must stop that. He simply has to say he did not sign the letter, that it’s a forgery. It’s a serious letter that commits the government to expenses of $162 million when the prime minister has said he’s already gotten financing for these projects. That is my point and I’m saying nothing else on that issue!”
