Suzy Kassem, is an American author, human rights activist, poet, cultural critic, and philosopher. Her artistic and intellectual commentary primarily surrounds truth, social justice, and world citizenry. In her book, Rise Up and Salute the Sun, she advised:
“Choose a leader who will invest in building bridges, not walls, books, not weapons, morality, not corruption, intellectualism and wisdom, not ignorance, stability, not fear and terror, peace, not chaos, love, not hate, convergence, not segregation, tolerance, not discrimination, fairness, not hypocrisy, substance, not superficiality, character, not immaturity, transparency, not secrecy, justice, not lawlessness, environmental improvement and preservation, not destruction, truth, not lies.”
Suzy Kassem’s portrayal of the ideal leader is lamentably the antithesis of our Prime Minister, Hon. Philip J. Pierre, and could be the reason why our Ship of State is floundering in the doldrums seemingly without a captain at the helm.
As we observe the arrant chaos and downright shame of what is taking place in Haiti, we, need to do some serious soul-searching at home. St. Lucia’s socio-political landscape is characterized by a breakdown in law and order, and a contemptuous disregard for transparency in government.
From day one of assuming office, we witnessed the decision of the SLP administration to expunge the charges and or convictions of over one hundred COVID-19 Prevention and Control Act violators, thereby, making a mockery of an already brittle, justice system. This farce was embarrassingly poached and emulated by the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the House, by appearing at a Court hearing to ensure that, in the words of the Prime Minister, “justice prevailed” for a fellow St. Lucia Labour Party member and Cabinet colleague. We were then forced to witness the extraordinary, litigious machinations in the House of Parliament by the government members, aided and abetted by an eagerly, accommodating Speaker, which caused the Government of St. Lucia to dish out tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, in lawyer’s fees for the Speaker’s unbecoming and scandalous behaviour.
Then came the very unusual disposal of state lands located in Port Castries, at a ridiculous price of twenty-five dollars per square foot. This egregious act was perpetrated by the controversial Minister of Housing, at a time, when, as per the public admission of the same Minister, land prices in the city of Castries are valued at approximately one thousand dollars per square foot.
St. Lucia, we need to open our eyes as no amount of outside forces will change the situation, while a stagnant economy, runaway crime, unemployment, and migration remain inescapable issues. If our PM is really serious, he must bite the bullet and accept the fact that he has grossly erred, in discontinuing all the projects he found on the table when he got into office. While St Lucia descends, Barbados ascends by welcoming Health City from the Cayman Islands. The company that assisted the former UWP administration to design the new hospital facility at St. Jude, has agreed to locate its secondary healthcare investment in the region in Barbados.
Once again, the decisions of this government have left the people destitute. Incredulously, the Philip J. Pierre administration stubbornly and callously continues to move ahead with its contrived plans of investing an additional $200 million from a Saudi loan, into an eighty-year-old make-shift hospital structure, affectionately known as the Chicken Coup, instead of completing the Development Control Authority approved, brand new, modern, purpose-built structure for $50 million or one-quarter of the cost. Truly a maniacal and ludicrous endeavour.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic is organizing a Caribbean Hub in Barbados while here at home, all we can look forward to is the hyping-up of Jounen Kweyol, Jazz, and Carnival, oblivious to the reality that these areas should represent subsidiary ventures. The organizing and promotion of these events should be secondary to the primary, substantive, and overarching objective, which is the crafting and execution of a comprehensive, top-class Marketing Plan for our Tourism Industry. An industry that is the engine which drives our economy and is responsible for the viability and sustainability of practically all of the other sectors of the economy. An industry that has been neglected and mismanaged by this government along with our construction industry and the road network rehabilitation programs, all significant components for remaining competitive in this globally competitive marketplace.