THE Saint Lucia Labour Party is raising concerns about “personal and confidential banking information” being used by the UWP “in an attempt to smear Labour Parliamentarians”.
According to a statement issued by the SLP ahead of the holiday weekend, “In the last day or two, personal banking information belonging to Castries South Parliamentary Representative, Dr Ernest Hilaire, from his account held at the CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, has been appearing on Facebook — posted by UWP operatives — and on UWP Blogs.”
The Labour Party statement said it is “condemning in the strongest possible terms, this nasty political tactic of the United Workers Party (UWP).”
The statement expressed “no doubt” that Dr.Hilaire “will be seeking advice from his lawyers,” but proceeded to say: “The Labour Party views this development as a new low in UWP’s desperate effort to distract the population from its ineffective and clueless mismanagement of the country.
The island’s major opposition party says it is “disappointed that state institutions are being used and manipulated by the Allen Chastanet and Guy Joseph UWP Administration to obtain information of a personal nature about political opponents and other citizens of the country.”
The SLP asked “whether this is the new Saint Lucia promised by the UWP – a country where the state feels emboldened to pry into the private lives of its citizens in order to bolster a weak and inept Administration?”
The statement asked: “Are we now being governed by scoundrels and vagabonds? Can people be blamed for thinking that a dictatorship is being established in our country?”
The Labour Party’s statement called on “the police, customs and other public servants entrusted with managing state institutions”, urging them “to guard against being drawn into the dirty political game of the present government.”(SLP)