Letters & Opinion

PM Must Clear The Air

Image of Hewanorra International Airport

THE EDITOR:

The botched attempt of the United Workers Party government at enhancing the Hewanorra International Airport back in 2009/2010 is not going away, even though, on the local front, there appears to be media silence on the issue.

Once a very heated subject, both on social and regular media, when the Assenza Report was leaked into the public domain last year, local media today seems to have gone silent on the subject, even though Minister Joseph said he welcomed the investigation into the part he played in the debacle and Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said he would launch an investigation into the matter as well.

The Miami Herald Newspaper out of South Florida earlier this week resuscitated the subject by publishing an interview it had with one of the top names involved in the fiasco, Antonio Assenza, owner of the company Asphalt and Mining, that featured so prominently in the collapse of the UWPā€™s planned $157 million airport development project.

When the St. Lucia Labour Party took office in 2011, it believed that the facts were indicative of an irregular arrangement between Assenza and public officials in the previous government of Saint Lucia regarding this public works project and called on the United States government for assistance in its investigations into the matter.

Now that the matter largely ignored by the local media Miami Herald newspaper — which sells over 180,000 copies daily (more than the population of Saint Lucia) and is read by millions worldwide ā€“ it is to be hoped that when he returns from his vacation leave, the Prime Minister will address the nation on this issue.

Thus far, all thatā€™s been said and written are by way of allegations and denials, with pledges and promises of who will clear their names and who will ā€˜take jailā€™.

Letā€™s cut the crap and demand the facts. Letā€™s remember that this is taxpayers money we are talking about and this is Saint Lucia, our country, where we will all have to live with whatever comes out of this mess.

(Stephen Lawrence)

1 Comment

  1. Well, well, well. Looks like the Airport has fallen into the same hole as St. Judeā€™s Hospital. What ever happened to contracts issued through the bid process. And the general contractor subbing out BY CONTRACT to subcontractors? Then any penalties fall from the top down, being the general is responsible first, then subcontractors. Yes, I said penalties. If dead lines ( milestones ) are not met, no pay for that milestone until itā€™s finished. That is like, ā€œHURRY UP and finish your work to get paidā€ !

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