Tuesday’s House sitting proved yet again that, when it comes to name-calling and scoring points, the honorable members are equal opportunity cannibals. Vieux Fort South MP Kenny Anthony set the tone. The final lines of his debate contribution, accompanied as always by finger-wagging reminiscent of a school principal standing over a cowering assembly, set the tone: “Finally, Mr. Speaker, let me say this. All of us in this House have had the opportunity to watch the stewardship of the current mayor. Some of us have had to deal with his actions in other forums. All I’m saying is this: it’s highly dangerous when a parliament decides to enact legislation for the sole vanity of an individual who is charged with a responsibility.”
For those old enough, the valid observation brought to mind a time when a government had amended the Saint Lucia Constitution to accommodate the senatorial aspirations of a certain Kenny Anthony; also, when his party had rewritten sections of its constitution to permit him to remain party leader! The MP for Castries South picked up the red-hot pitch fork with obvious relish. “The Castries Constituency Council has become synonymous with bad governance, irregular practices bordering, some might say, on corruption. In fact, there was a public announcement of an audit being done in the CCC. It has never been made a public document and today we’re coming to this House to discuss a bill relating to that same CCC.
The mayor is suing one of his councillors for calling him corrupt. It’s now a matter before the courts. The way in which the Council is managed leaves a lot to be desired. I spoke with four councillors about this bill we’re debating here today. They did not even know it was coming before parliament! That’s how councillors are left out of the operation of the CCC.” As Hilaire jabbed his instrument into the attendant Mayor Peterson’s hide, this reporter thought about the House Standing Orders that forbid honourable members from making such references as had been made by the Castries South MP, without a discouraging word from Speaker Andy Daniel.
“Decisions are being taken with no approval from the Council,” Hilaire went on. “I asked my representative from the Council over and over: ‘Can you tell me how much it cost to refurbish the office of the CCC?’ And he keeps saying to me that this has never come before Council; it was never approved by Council; they have no idea how much was spent.”
His final jab, again laced with disturbing imputations: “You hear stories that the mayor’s trip to Trinidad cost about $15,000. Not even the PM’s travel expense is that high.” The Vieux Fort North MP, Moses Jn. Baptiste, joined the chorus: “This Bill does not address the concerns that constituency councils allow their processes whether deliberately, or naively, to be channels for improper activity. We have complained about it. I have been in this parliament going on three terms and every session we complain about it.”
He switched from time to time to Kwéyòl, especially when making his more biting insinuations, in the process flouting with impunity Sections 6-1 and 35-1 of the Standing Orders. JnBaptiste, perhaps anticipating the government’s later reaction, volunteered this reminder: “We did something about it and the member for Castries South referred to what we did. Many times people say to us, ‘Y’all not talking about that. What did you do about it?’ But we did something about it.”
Then came his plug for his battered and bruised fellow opposition warrior, by now predictable, non sequitur or not: “I have said over and over again that the former prime minister and member for Vieux Fort South will go down in history as one of the leaders of our country who took concrete steps to fight corruption in this country.” The MP’s emotional endorsement brought to this reporter’s mind the controversies branded as the Helenites Affair, Rochamel, Grynberg, IMPACS, inter alia. I wondered how the good words for the former prime minister connected with the opposition’s naked accusations against the popular mayor of Castries.
It occurred to me that the outspoken former Labour Party chairman and senate president Claudius Francis, the host of Straight Up, was also the mayor’s brother, and seldom reluctant to call a spade a spade. But he was uncharacteristically reticent when I sought from him a comment on the unleashed opposition attack on the character of Mr. Peterson Francis. “I don’t even know what was said,” was his reaction. “But I have nothing to say. Why would I have anything to say? It’s for the mayor to answer that, not me.” And indeed the mayor had much to say.
First he took on the former leader of the SLP, now MP for Vieux Fort South. As they say, the two had history. Bad history, not to be gone into at this time. “So Dr. Anthony is saying the Bill in question had something to do with my own vanity. I understand the opposition’s problem. They are asking for the first time the effectiveness of the CCC. The Bill was passed to make the CCC more effective. What we had before were figurehead mayors. The changes are not for my benefit; they will be there for other future mayors to work with in the best interests of the Council and those it serves. Dr. Anthony knows better, but that’s what opposition politics is about. And he has his own political battles to think about.”
As for Ernest Hilaire’s “many speculations”, the mayor said the MP was “always asking for proof to back up his claims. Why doesn’t he provide the proof to parliament before he makes his accusations?” He acknowledged that one of his councillors had indeed accused him of corruption, “and that’s why I am taking him to court”.
Addressing a question about the amount spent on the refurbishment of the city council building, Francis issued a challenge: “The books are there, you know,” he said. “If Mr. Hilaire, as a parliamentary representative for Castries South, wants to, he has the right to come in and ask questions. Find out for yourself if Peterson Francis took money and used it to renovate his home, as he is alleged to have done.”
Then there was this: “Dr. Hilaire gave the impression the Bill was for my personal benefit. The same Dr. Hilaire, immediately after I assumed office, came to me to see whether I could pass on left-over funds for a Marigot road project. When has the Council been involved in building roads? Now, that’s an interesting story. This is the same MP now accusing me of corruption in the privileged House!”
There have been hints and allegations that the well-liked Castries mayor could possibly be the man to beat in Castries South come the next general elections—which brought a knowing smile to the mayor’s face when this reporter asked for his confirmation of the rumours.
