With the many allegations of impropriety, malfeasance and corruption in government dogging the leadership of the United Workers Party, its propagandists seem to have embarked on one of their most frantic post-election disinformation campaigns. The object is of course to misdirect the electorate, and to change the narrative regarding what is to be done to rescue the country from the shambles resulting from five plus years of disastrous social and economic policies.
The investigations that many of the electorate are calling for, into the stewardship of more than $30, 000 of the Soufriere Town Council’s funds, the Soufriere Foundation, PAJOAH letters #1 and #2 and the disappearance into thin air of millions of dollars of St. Jude Hospital equipment, is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. And the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of many of the former government’s leaders and operatives – THE PROPOSAL TO ENGAGE A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR to deal with these and other alleged misdeeds, are being countered by misdirecting the focus of the electorate.
After the attacks on Tourism Minister, Dr. Ernest Hilaire, seemed to have fizzled out, they have turned their attention to a contrived difficult relationship between former Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Saint Lucia Labour Party. Dr. Anthony’s parliamentary guidance on a number of bills before the House is completely consistent with mature parliamentary practice. He is well placed as a senior member of the party, an eminently qualified former PM, a widely respected legal luminary and the representative of his people to bring insightful interventions into parliamentary debate.
It should not go without mention that during the Chastanet Government, Dr. Anthony had to make such interventions on several occasions to correct or address the large number of ill-conceived legislative boobs that were made. In the case of the present parliament, he is simply bringing his expertise to bear on the legislative agenda of a government that he has firmly supported at every turn.
The attempt to characterize Dr. Anthony’s interventions as evidence of a rift at the top echelons of the party and government is frankly puerile. His input has sought to strengthen the Government’s legislative agenda and it bespeaks his active collaboration in ensuring that the government gets the full benefit of his expertise even while he is not a member of Cabinet. And in this vein, we should look forward to his invaluable contribution regarding our full accession to the CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice), an issue which will no doubt be at the top of the Pierre Government’s priorities in the coming months. It is also an issue with regard to which we can expect the Allen Chastanet-led UWP to continue to take a disingenuous position.
Of course, one may suggest that he should have been consulted on this or that issue before it was brought before the House, so that these concerns would be obviated before the debate. It is clear however that while former ministers and members of the Labour Cabinet, including Dr. Anthony, are often engaged on such matters, they are also allowing the Pierre Cabinet the space it needs to function. Otherwise, the SLP Government would have been accused by the same operatives spinning today’s stories of a perceived rift, of bending to the inordinate dictates of a former PM. You will note that this is precisely what the Dr. Vaughn Lewis Flambeau Government suffered from.
During the Vaughn Lewis Government many top party officials unashamedly declared that it was Senior Minister John Compton that they continued to regard as Prime Minister. And such UWP-style subterfuge and undermining became full-blown when nothing less than a well-calculated and calibrated coup was unleashed at the Soufriere convention which, saw Sir John seizing the helm of the party once again, at the age of 82! The palpable and unvarnished disrespect for the leadership of Dr. Vaughn Lewis then, who was to later declare that he had been “pushed” (or was “putsched”?) from the leadership was evident. It is therefore undeniable that they are accusing others of strategies out of their own play-book, and which they have practiced against their own – as they also did against former Prime Minister Stephenson King.
The red herrings that the Flambeaus dangle out there for public consumption are a predictable weapon in their arsenal of tired tactics of disinformation. These methods are designed to distract the country from a people-oriented development agenda, which is fully supported and endorsed by Kenny Anthony. They are aimed at muddying the waters to take our focus away from the actions that must be taken to ensure that the blatant corruption that has apparently flourished in recent times is never repeated. If I am not mistaken, it was Dr. Anthony who was one of the first persons to advance the idea of a Special Prosecutor dedicated to deal with what appears to be unprecedented instances of unethical and allegedly criminal behaviour in government – to bring those who are found culpable to boot.
And to all intents and purposes, the Philip J. Pierre Government is unequivocal about implementing this, much to the chagrin of the former government.