THE EDITOR:
I find the content of Dr. Anderson Reynolds series of articles in your paper about the controversial Vieux Fort project, most disappointing. It appears that Reynolds motive was not only to enlighten with an intellectual-historical account but also to campaign for the opposition in general and Dr. Kenny Anthony in particular.
To suggest, so early in the game that the ruling party stands to lose general elections, which could be as much as four and a half years away, because of its pushing of Desert Star is not only presumptuous , it also reeks of bias, considering we have just had a general election in which the St Lucia Labour Party was decisively defeated. Let me be clear, the UWP may well lose the next election, but to make that supposition on the basis of something that is ongoing is dangerous and exposes Dr. Reynolds’ bias.
Throughout the series of articles I have read thus far there are several other instances where this bias raises its head. It is patently obvious that Dr. Reynolds’ is fixated with Dr. Anthony, who most of St Lucians now see as a total failure.
I must say I do not support any project that would displace St Lucians and rob them of access to places of recreation. But I look at Vieux Fort, where I have lived all my life and lament the state it is in at this time. In the elections last year, I simply did not go out to vote because of my disappointment with my representative. To tell me you represented us for 15 years and we can deteriorate to the level that we are at and you did nothing to stop it, smacks of irresponsibility. This is not only my view. Ask the people of Vieux Fort. As a matter of fact the election figures for Vieux Fort South tell the story like nothing else could.
It strikes me that throughout the years, Vieux Fort was represented by Labour precious little ever happened there. It is the Flambeaus that have brought any kind of development to the region: hotels, an international airport, factory shells, housing, agriculture etc. Where is Labour’s contribution to Vieux Fort? This was once a bustling little town and I was proud to live there. I don’t feel that pride anymore.
Those of us who live in Vieux Fort know of Dr. Reynolds’ admiration for Dr. Anthony, but isn’t he taking it too far, using his articles to make Dr. Anthony look good? It will not work. Everyone now knows that Dr. Anthony has been a political failure. The people of Vieux Fort finally saw the light and told him so with the election result of June 2016.
But to get back to Anderson Reynolds. When we thought he was writing about the Vieux Fort project, it appears that his real beef is with Allen Chastanet and the fact that he is not St Lucian enough and cannot relate to our culture. Absolute rubbish. It also appears that in his haste to tarnish Chastanet’s and the UWP’s names, he is prepared to lie as well. Let me refer to just two of them. In one article Reynolds claims that Chastanet had as promised to abolish VAT and once he got into power he changed his position and opted to reduce it to 12.5 percent. This is a lie. Chastanet may have at first announced he would abolish VAT, I don’t know. What I know is that long before the election he said he would first reduce it and later eliminate it. That even appears in the UWP manifesto.
In another article, Reynolds accuses Sir John Compton of not looking after the social needs of St Lucians. He had the nerve to mention: education, electricity, footpaths, pipe-borne water, claiming that none of these were in Sir John’s vision. If Reynolds was not in St Lucia when things were happening he should keep quiet about them. There is a photograph of Sir John with a cutlass in hand and a length of pipe on his shoulder walking through a rural community in Micoud sometime in the 1960s that has been carried in THE VOICE. As far as I can recall it marked the beginning of personal attempts by Sir John to bring water to rural communities using the koudmain principle. Sir John pioneered self help water development in St Lucia and later it was through his vision that the Roseau Dam was built to bring pipe borne water to people. So what is Mr. Reynolds talking about? Does Mr. Reynolds know the story of LUCELEC or how the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College started? Maybe Sir John was not a footpaths person, but is that all there is to life?
I am simply tired of hearing people talk nonsense
–J.M. Theodore
Monsieur ,
I pray that you are not in the least related to the Grand Statesmanlike Pharmacist MR THEODORE whose pharmacy was located near M& C and JQ and the RC Church in VFort.
I have listened to many wonderful stories of how he used his knowledge to act as a Doctor (in non life threatenening cases) for the Malaway at Bacadere and the Mang.
Talk about medical pro bono…oui?
But you are not that kind of altruistic VFortian
You sound more like the the Jimmy Cliff charaacter in THE HARDER THEY COME .
You like the few speculators (besides the obvious technocrats) expect your Share or is it graft …..right now. fuh as sure as the sun wil weep over CoCodan …n’est pas?
IEven a six standard student can calculate the profit loss ledger of this colossal RACE TO DE BOTTOM
When Britain built Hong Kong into the world hub of Finance and Manufacturing for 99 years ALL of China continues to benefit.
You can argue that modern China got the better end of the deal because their takeover coincided with their upstart as the worlds leader in producing
(cont’d)…..goods for frenzied global consumers.
The deal at CoCoDan may have been inspired by the Hong Kong lease of yore..BUT it is as bare of benefits for VFort and Stlucia in much the same way that NEptune , Urannus and Jupiter are inhabitable for human beings…..n’est pas?
Insulting the anointed messenger ( Dr Reynolds) is not going to alter the TRUTH.. The proverbial Horse has bolted the barn ….
Soon the geological clarion of Moule A Cheque in synchronized orchestration with Gimie and The Pitons shall echo the bitter wail of this misguided solicitation at COCO-DAN.