Anticipating the number of COVID-19 cases, related deaths and affected countries to climb even higher in the days and weeks ahead, and concerned by the “alarming levels of spread and severity,” the World Health Organization on Wednesday officially characterized the disease outbreak as a pandemic. On Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of State, highlighting the increased risk of infection of COVID-19, warned American travellers, particularly those with underlying health issues, to avoid travelling on cruise ships.
These latest developments have attracted the attention of Andre de Caries, marijuana activist and chairperson of the political party Lucian Greens. This week an irate de Caires lamented that both the St. Lucia Labour Party and United Workers Party have both focused mainly on tourism—which he says is poised to take a massive hit from the virus. He stated that LG intends to have seventeen candidates ready for the next general elections. Alas, the LG party has not recorded much success in its short history. In the 2011 elections, the group fielded three candidates. Of the 85,821 total ballots cast, just 17 went to LG.
De Caires recalled that in 2011 his party’s manifesto was heavily focused on agriculture, with food security as one of the major elements. The party hoped that the cannabis industry would lead the charge in luring young men into farming. The focus would not only be on mono-crop but instead on creating a diversified, integrated, organic, sustainable agricultural system. He argues that this will have a far-reaching effect on job growth, lowering the food import bill and increasing the health of our people.
He bemoaned that nine years later, both parties have placed focus mainly on the tourism industry—which he described as a trickle-down economic model, where the managers and owners get all the money, while staff get peanuts. Speaking on the banana industry, he said that people had an opportunity to make money on a weekly basis, and spend that money in the business sector paying for goods and services.
“Tourism is one of the largest employers on the island,” he said. “What happens if this [COVID-19] continues and people stop travelling? All our eggs are in one basket! I want more for our people. I want our young people to have a good life. All we’re doing is selling beaches and building hotels. We can’t even feed ourselves.”
De Caires added: “We have a radical agenda. We support the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community. We want to legalize prostitution; we want to legalize cannabis. More and more people are fed up with the two-party political system. People are fed up! They’re throwing stones at each other and the people of the country are no better off.”
