Stressing on the importance of unity within government on Sunday at the Saint Lucia Labour Party’s (SLP) Delegates Conference, Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell in his keynote speech noted that in order for government to thrive, members must remain unified.
“There is nothing worse” people hate “than when they’ve given men and women power and instead of using the office for the benefit of the people, they fight and squabble amongst themselves- that is a lesson I know the Saint Lucia Labour Party knows very well,” Mitchell told the gathering at the Fond Assau Primary School.
“We need to remember that each of us (members, supporters, delegates and friends of the Saint Lucia Labour Party) have our role to play and when we play our role,” the party and its supporters “will move forward,” he said.
This was the fourth regional engagement that Mitchell had attended since taking office under 20 months ago. In fact, he said, when Prime Minister Pierre “asked me whether I would speak at this conference I told him in no uncertain terms I would be honoured to do so.”
Noting the importance of education in today’s society, Mitchell made it clear that government has an obligation not only to teach Saint Lucians about the island’s history, but to “make sure that the next generation of Saint Lucians join the Saint Lucia Labour Party.”
“We are living at a pivotal time in history. Grenada is going to be celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence on the 7th of February next year – Saint Lucia is not far behind. We have to ask ourselves what civilization we are going to be building for the next generation,” Mitchell said.
He added that “Labour in Saint Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent, Dominica, St Kitts… (all fraternal parties) are parties that put people first.”
These parties he said “understand we have to educate and uplift our people because that is the asset we have. We cannot walk away, withdraw or reduce our investment in educating our people because you could have gold and bauxite but if they (people) are not educated, they will not know how to monetise the gold and bauxite… Your Nobel Laureates knew that with education they could rise to the highest levels of achievement and they did not just make Saint Lucia proud, they made the Caribbean proud… they showed that they were able to compete with the best regardless of where they came from.”
“So it is important for us to teach that history to the next generation of Saint Lucians… to the next generation of Caribbean people because too often we do not celebrate and appreciate the remarkable achievements that our people have been able to accomplish,” he said.
Prime Minister Philip J Pierre for his part spoke on government’s commitment to the people and the strides he has made since assuming/entering office.
“I am aware of the general cynicism in the realm of politics in Saint Lucia,” Pierre told the audience.
“Our island deserves leadership that is not just accountable but deeply rooted in credibility. It is my job as leader of this party and prime minister of our nation to address these concerns and to remedy the incompetence of the last government. In our pursuit of progress we must recognize that truthfulness is the cornerstone upon which effective government is built. Today I stand before you not just as leader of our great party and as prime minister but as a steward of accountability (and) integrity and a commitment to renewing the trust of the people of Saint Lucia in government,” Pierre added.
“Sadly the respect and trust we once had among our sister islands was severely undermined by the governance of our country during 2016-2021. My team of men and women had to do much work in repairing the damage that has been done. It is no accident that investor interest in our country is now on the rise and many projects are now awaiting implementation. Despite inheriting an economy near ruins, we have found ways to address the most pressing problems of the poor and vulnerable,” Pierre said.