IN the immortal words of John Wooden, “You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes.” It seems the Saint Lucia Labour Party administration has taken this quote to heart, albeit in a rather… creative way. Instead of taking responsibility for their shortcomings, they’ve developed a peculiar obsession with blaming former Prime Minister Allen Chastanet for, well, everything.
From the most “reddied” Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre to the besieged Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire, to the bellicose Minister of Housing, and down to the nowadays-inconspicuous, flunking Minister of Health, it’s like they’re stuck on a broken record, chanting “Chastanet, Chastanet, Chastanet” like a mantra. One would think that intelligent, well-educated individuals would realize that their excuses have become, quite frankly, pathetic and ridiculous. Most St. Lucians have sussed out their shallow playbook and cannot be duped anymore. Even their most ardent supporters, the “Red Army,” are starting to see through the charade.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? When Chastanet proposed utilizing the tourism industry to boost the economy post-COVID-19, Pierre called him a “madman.” Fast forward to today, and lo and behold, tourism arrivals are finally on track to surpass pre-pandemic numbers. Suddenly, the SLP administration is touting the growth and the importance of the tourism industry, as if they had anything to do with its success.
But wait, there’s more! The aberrant Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment, Ernest Hilaire, is trying to pin the blame on Chastanet for the Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) debacle, which has been an absolute disaster under his watch. And if that wasn’t enough, the Minister of Health is blaming Chastanet for the deplorable state of healthcare in the country. It’s like they’re competing in a game of “Who Can Blame Chastanet the Most.” Meanwhile, the Minister of Housing appears to be having nightmares about Chastanet, waking up every morning with a bad case of “Chastanet-i-tis.” It’s almost as if they’re trying to convince themselves, rather than the public, that they’re not responsible for the mess they’ve created.
Three years into their term, the SLP administration has done a lot of talking, but sadly, they’ve failed to walk the talk. St. Lucia is on a precipitous decline, and the people are getting tired of waiting for them to fulfil their promises. Instead of putting the people first, as they claimed they would, they’ve prioritized their own interests, those of their clique, their family, dubious foreign companies, and construction workers from Trinidad, India, and China.
The people are beginning to realize that they’ve been played. They’re tired of hearing about Chastanet and want to see real action from the current government. They’re fed up with the excuses, the blame-shifting, and the lack of accountability. It’s time for the SLP administration to take responsibility for their shortcomings and misconduct and start working towards a better future for St. Lucia. Until then, we’ll just have to keep listening to the same old broken record: “Chastanet, Chastanet, Chastanet!!!!”