When the Saint Lucia National Trust on September 9, 2018 successfully petitioned the high court to issue an order prohibiting the demolition of the old Castries Prison, it was difficult to gauge exactly where public sentiment lay. Various Cabinet members on several occasions expressed their frustration at not being able to move forward with such a vitally important project. Police frustration at the news of the injunction was widely publicized. But what exactly was the view of the wider nation?
By its own admission the Trust, in an open letter dated September 8, 2018, acknowledged the “proposed demolition [of the prison] is part of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Halls of Justice project funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)”. In the same missive, the Trust lauded the government, the OECS Supreme Court and the Caribbean Development Bank “for this important initiative”.
By this stated line the Trust acknowledged that the proposed demolition of the old prison could not be dismissed as just another Allen Chastanet vanity project. Nevertheless, the organisation did not hesitate to call on the Development Control Authority (DCA) to “issue a stop order to all works on the site until the required applications are submitted, considered and approved”.
The DCA issued no such order. Further, the required applications referred to by the Trust, needed to be submitted to the DCA itself. But interestingly, as the Trust would admit in a later press release: “Our attempts to find out upon whose authority a public building was being demolished and whether the DCA had approved the demolition were unsuccessful.”
Despite not finding out from the DCA itself whether the required approval for the demolition was given, the Trust said that its own September 10 search “of the DCA Register of Approved Projects did not reveal any approval for the demolition works at the prison”. On September 6 the conservation organisation admitted to discovering the planned demolition via social media. That it filed an injunction with just three days to think about it, is rather telling.
Given that the DCA did not issue a stop order per the Trust’s command and in the face of ongoing demolition, the Trust was concerned that “the heritage would be lost forever”. Further: “In light of this, the Council felt there was no other option but to pursue an injunction against the continued demolition.”
To be pellucid in its rationale: “The Saint Lucia National Trust Act (No 6.02 of the revised Laws of Saint Lucia) mandates the organization to list buildings, objects and monuments of prehistoric, historic and architectural interest and places of natural beauty, and to locate and promote the preservation of buildings and objects of archaeological architectural, historic, artistic or traditional interest. It is in pursuit of this aspect of its mandate that the Trust initiated legal proceedings to protect the Castries Prison.”
The Trust, by its own words, was “regrettably forced into legal recourse to meet this commitment imposed upon us by law”. Finally: “Given that the Trust had not observed any official government announcements, neither had it been engaged; and given that it appeared that the structures faced imminent destruction, the Trust was duty bound to seek immediate relief in the public interest.”
It’s crystal clear what the Trust sees as the public interest. Far more important, perhaps, is what the public believes is in the public interest. It’s been well documented, the public’s exasperation with crime levels, especially homicides. And that this exasperation is expressed with increasing regularity via television, radio and social media. By the end of 2018 Saint Lucia’s homicides totalled 43. To add to the already bleak figures, last year’s homicide total was even higher and topped out at 50.
Typically topping the Who to Blame list is the police force, closely followed by the government. But has the Trust inadvertently cast itself in with that lot? The expressed opposition to the injunction by PWA president Travis Chicot did not come as a shock. Even a cursory examination of his firm statement at the time is confirmation of that: “The PWA finds it rather absurd that at this juncture there is a call, and even an injunction, against the demolition of the old HMP building,”
Perhaps more cutting is this observation: “This is a building which has been abandoned for over a decade and, as far as we know, no one, no organization had claimed it, expressed any interest in it or announced any plans for it. For us the police, how does it affect us? For years now this has been the harbouring ground for vagrants, criminals, mosquitoes and rodents, a storage area for garbage, drugs and even stolen items.”
A former police officer’s contribution to a local radio programme last week was personal: “I’d like to see the Trust take their money and rebuild that place.” The caller exclaimed, “A total waste of time!” Of course, it can always be argued that the police have their own agenda when it comes to the issue under discussion and their collective opinion might not harmonize with the public view.
Mary Francis summed it up this way: “There are lots of matters that need attention in Saint Lucia. You have the whole matter of the court and the old prison. While I understand it is the duty of the Trust to conserve and preserve heritage and what-not, when you look at the members of the Trust they are not persons who actually stand in the shoes of the poor people, people who, because of economic problems, get themselves into conflict with the law. Those people are standing outside in the street; they need justice.
And it’s incumbent upon the state, which creates the justice system, and the legislation, which causes people sometimes to come before the court, to provide an adequate courthouse for those persons, preventing them from standing in the elements of rain and sun. Members of the Trust are not being evicted from their homes because they cannot pay rent. There must be a balance and we have to be realistic. I’m calling on the government to make haste and move speedily to demolish the old prison and build a new courthouse.”
In this seeming war between the government and the Trust, the big question is: Is the tail wagging the dog?
