Health Minister describes Royal Gaol as a “cesspool”, defends demolition

Senator Mary Issac has added her voice to the debate surrounding Saturday’s demolition of the Royal Gaol prison. The Saint Lucia National Trust has taken the authorities to task for breaking down the historic building, but at today’s Senate sitting, the health minister defended government’s move.

“Let me repeat how Honourable Minister Guy Joseph said it and I thought that was just spot on. He said ‘you cannot destroy what has already been destroyed, all we did was clear the site.’ And that is exactly what happened, the thing was already destroyed,” she said. “That place was a cesspool. It was a cesspool! Prostitution was going on in that thing; all kinds of ills was taking place inside of that old derelict building. The police were complaining about it for years!”

The minister continued: “We’ve cleared the site where this destroyed monstrosity was, so that we can build a state of the art facility for our justice system, and you hear people up in arms and complaining about it.”

Issac then shifted her focus to the National Trust— who she says is “jumping up and down” about the building. “Why didn’t they restore the building? Why didn’t they claim it and put it on their list of buildings that are heritage sites?” she asked. Speaking on the opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party, the minister said that left up to them, nothing good would get done in the country. “Some thing is being done about an eyesore that is right there in the town and the opposition is complaining, like they normally do, like they always do. They complain about everything that this government try to do.”

“They complained about the Millennium Highway, they complained about the government buildings, they complain, they complain, they complain,” she said.