Opposition Leader Philip J. Pierre has called on Prime Minister Allen Chastanet to fire Tourism Minister Dominic Fedee. On Tuesday, the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association (SLHTA) wrote to the government to request that the COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Bill be deferred.
While speaking on the Bill in Parliament, Pierre brought up the SLHTA’s concerns.
During crosstalk, Fedee stated: “…But you pay them to write the letter.”
The Opposition Leader took umbrage: “Mr. Speaker I hope it’s on the record that the Minister for Tourism has said that I paid the SLHTA to write a letter. I want to put on the record of this Parliament that the Minister of Tourism said that I paid the SLHTA money to write a letter. That is the level that we’ve reached in this country and you want me to trust a government like that? You hear what he’s saying and you think I can trust a government like that?”
During a press conference on Thursday, Pierre described the minister’s comments as an insult to Saint Lucia’s tourism sector.
“…Rather than Mr. Fedee and the government take into consideration the SLHTA’s concerns, Fedee — as he has now become well known for— attacked the leader of the SLHTA. Sadly for Fedee, his comments served not as an attack on the Leader of the Opposition, but instead on his former colleagues within the tourism industry.
“What Fedee said was so unprincipled. To accuse members of the SLHTA of accepting bribes, what he’s actually doing is he’s saying that people like the President and the CEO, have reached the stage where they can accept bribes from the Leader of the Opposition. I believe that Fedee’s statement is so grave and it’s such an insult to the tourism sector, the pioneers of the tourism industry, and the people who manage more than 50% of Saint Lucia’s economy, that the prime minister should relieve Fedee of his duties as Minister of Tourism.
“…I think if the prime minister does not remove Fedee, that he and his Cabinet ministers agree with what Fedee said in the parliament. It’s a low. It has never become so low in the Parliament and Fedee should be removed and fired as Minister for Tourism,” Pierre stated.
