THE question of Saint Lucia’s foreign policy played a crucial role in the last general elections. So much so that the United Workers’ Party (UWP) vehemently and repeatedly reminded voters that should that party assume office there would be a major overhaul “to bring consistency, rationality, integrity and mutual respect” to Saint Lucia’s relations with foreign partners.
The circumstances surrounding Saint Lucia’s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Dr. Walid Juffali, after his former wife filed civil proceedings against him in a UK court created quite a stir over the past few months. The issue seemed more than enough to question the merits of such appointments despite Dr. Juffali reportedly working on Saint Lucia’s behalf pro bono.
However, while the former government maintained that Dr. Juffali’s appointment was “consistent with the efforts of the government to appoint trade and investment envoys to assist in the promotion of Saint Lucia and to attract investment”, the then opposition UWP claimed that Dr. Juffali’s appointment in April 2014 seemed suspect.
Suspicion notwithstanding, UWP Political Leader, Allen Chastanet, pledged to recall Dr. Juffali’s appointment if need be should his party win the June 6 polls. With his party now forming the government, there has been no definitive position on the matter save that investigations into Dr. Juffali’s appointment continues.
In the broader sense, Chastanet also pledged that all diplomatic appointments will be made public, adding that the requisite due diligence procedures will be followed prior to those appointments taking effect. He also noted that those diplomatic positions would not be merely tokenistic but that diplomats would basically have to earn their pay by attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Saint Lucia.
The question of diplomatic appointments has always been an intriguing one. Quite often, it seems that diplomats are given high postings that pay heftily only to milk a home country that continues to realize way too little benefits created by them.
In some instances, these postings appear to be rewards for services rendered to a political party. Hardly is there any empirical data to suggest how Saint Lucia has benefitted positively from these diplomatic appointments.
With a new government in place, the onus is now on the Prime Minister Chastanet to appoint the most suitable diplomats to these prestigious posts, people who, like he has repeatedly said, need to earn their pay and create economic opportunities for Saint Lucia abroad.