St Lucia ill prepared to face economic headwinds

“Tolerance Is The Highest Degree Of Our Strength…. And Desire to Take Revenge Is the First Sign of Weakness.”

St Lucia has witnessed the determination of one politician who has taken on fifteen government MPs in Parliament despite the concerted effort to frustrate him. Persecution by the current administration has come at a dear cost to the taxpayers of the nation and remains amongst the many cardinal sins crying to heaven. In dollars and cents, it has been estimated that approximately $765 million have been put on hold all in the form of revenge for class and colour. This hatred stemmed from the day Chastanet stepped into the political arena as if to say he was persona non grata.

The then SLP leader publicly announced that the political battle was no longer between the UWP and SLP but the Chastanets. The most disconcerting part of this episode was the unseating of the then political leader by a man who he truly despised and the hatred was further compounded by refusing to concede after the results and so the list goes on. The following compelling part of hatred stemmed from Richard Frederick, the number one bully within the UWP administration who was singled out by the US government for compelling reasons, resulting in the withdrawal of both his personal and diplomatic visas. It was Allen Chastanet who had the gumption to stand up to Frederick in protecting the image of the party. Today the SLP is saddled with a wild card who remains uncontrollable and likely to pursue his goal at any given time. In retaliation, Frederick for six years used the local media to blatantly spread his misinformation which unfortunately the public adopted. The hatred continued in the lower house until the high courts made their final determination in a matter which highlighted an incident never raised in the history of St Lucia.

What transpired at the polls in July 2020 was yet another conspiracy to target a man they failed to bring down legitimately. It took a combination of misfits to get a free pass into a political party to fight one man and today what have we witnessed? CHAOS AND DISFUNCTION, which has left fair Helen rudderless and an economy wanting, as they now turn on each other. The lack of growth in the nation’s economy has forced government to rely principally on taxes to meet current expenses and one area which remains obvious is the price of petrol at the pump. Approximately three dollars more per gallon than any Caribbean nation brings in millions of dollars instead of retaining the construction of the HIA terminal, St Jude’s, the road programs and the housing projects which had their own revenue stream instead of this unnecessary taxation affecting the ordinary man to the very core.

It is now very clear that the ongoing headwinds facing the world leaves St Lucia in no position to do battle and we need to fasten our seatbelts not only for the pot holes but the rising cost of food as indicated this week by the major food suppliers in the world.