Ubaldus Raymond Clears the Air

Voice Reporter: Good morning Dr, Raymond.

Recently, you were interviewed by Dale Elliott, producer of the popular television programme – “Untold Stories”. In a sense, there were statements made to Mr. Elliott which, because of the nature of the medium of the interview, were transient which you might find it beneficial to repeat and amplify in a more lasting medium, hence this interview.

Who is Ubaldus Raymond?

“I was born in Castries, Saint Lucia on January 17th, 1968 – I am 56 years old. I have been married to Dr. Julietta Raymond for the past 25 years although we have been together for over 32 years. Our union has produced two lovely sons – 23 and 16 years.

I am a proud graduate of Howard University, obtaining a Ph.D. in Development Economics in December 2004. I also hold three degrees from Alabama A&M University: Master of Science in Economics (finance) – 2000; Master of Science in Agribusiness – 1997; and Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics – 1994.

My professional career spans over 25 years in areas of public policy, senator, chief economist, senior economist, head of economics and statistics, and assistant professor.

I pride myself on being a good citizen in my professional, public, and private lives. In other words, I respect and uphold the rule of law of the land and the professional ethics governing the workplace. I have never been arrested nor had to defend myself against any wrongdoing.”

And yet, you have been accused of inappropriate behaviour with members of the opposite sex.

“I have learned that the brutal force of politics always seems to dominate over truth. The abundance, speed, and variety of media, especially social media, gives force to this unfortunate reality. An individual’s reputation can be destroyed in minutes and have life-changing and detrimental effects on their professional career. I learned these hard truths through my involvement in elective politics which started in 2010. However, the most crucial period was from 2017 through 2019.

On the first occasion, a criminal act was committed against me, however, the media mercilessly turned me into the villain. Lies, untruths, propaganda, and wild speculations were all hurled at my reputation. In short, an attempt was made to blackmail me. The perpetrators were charged with criminal offences. Unfortunately, I say unfortunately with the benefit of hindsight, the case was adjudicated through the process of mediation, so that I could not defend myself against these vicious forces publicly. Suffice it to say that I received a full apology from the defendants and a recanting of all accusations.

Reputational damage is not erased with time. Instead, the passing of time solidifies it. It is for this reason, I decided to have an interview with Untold Stories in May 2024 – seven and a half years later. Thankfully, the host of the Untold Stories was able to unearth a heap of voice evidence and more that exposed who the real villains were. Many individuals have subsequently reached out to me expressing their disgust with what was propagated in the media against me and are now pleased that the untold stories have been told.”

In 2016 you became a Minister in the Allen Chastanet government. Was that not a public vindication of your reputation?

“Knowing the facts surrounding the blackmailing issue, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet did not allow the loud political noise to cloud his judgment. I was subsequently appointed the minister responsible for the Public Service while still serving as the minister in the Ministry of Finance to which I was appointed in 2016.

As the minister responsible for the Public Service, I commissioned a trip to Trinidad with a nine-member delegation of senior public servants in February 2019 on a due diligence or fact-finding mission on a Trinidadian company that had an interest in doing business with the Government of Saint Lucia. I decided on this for two reasons.

The first reason was because it was the right thing to do. In such a situation, it is about ensuring that the interests of the government, and the people of Saint Lucia remain paramount.

The second reason was that I wanted to ensure transparency in the process especially because two of the three local directors of the company being assessed were related to the prime minister. This would have provided some measure of protection for the prime minister against allegations of conflict of interest. Therefore, I requested from the delegation a report of the findings which I tabled at the first cabinet meeting when I returned. I believe that once certain measures were taken based on the recommendations contained in the report, the company would have been in a good position to partner with the Government of Saint Lucia.

Our trip to Trinidad was during the Carnival season. A nine-member delegation including myself were treated with passes to a couple of evening musical performances. It was at that time the CEO of the Trinidadian company introduced me to a Trinidadian woman. We exchanged numbers that night. I travelled back to Saint Lucia one day later.

To my shock and disgust, the conversations we had in just about one week were recorded unknowingly to me. But interestingly, the recordings made their way to Saint Lucia in the hands of opposition political operatives, which were weaponised against me on social media and especially on local political talk shows. It was clear that their main objective was to cause embarrassment to me and subsequently the government with the hope of having me dismissed. It is important to note that I was viewed as a pillar of the government and a strong tower for the prime minister. Therefore, my political opponents came out in full force just like they did before to tarnish my reputation and cause embarrassment. Also of note is that nothing that was discussed by my political opponents pointed to any illegality or wrongdoing by me, It was strictly gutter politics in its lowest form. However, I took comfort in knowing that the recorded conversations were not incriminating in any form or fashion. I have always maintained myself with the highest level of integrity in public and private forums. My professional ethics and decorum transcend all aspects of my life. I was therefore surprised, then, when I was asked to take leave by the prime minister. One aspect of that decision was because of pressure from some members of his cabinet and outside influencers, not based on any wrongdoing but on political expediency and their interests.

Even more surprising and disturbing was a press release from the Office of the Attorney General concerning an investigation surrounding the matter. The press statement begs the following questions: Were there any complaints against me? Who was the injured party in the matter? What exactly was the government investigating that was of concern to them?

Not long after the statement was released, then Inspector Albert Charlery asked me to meet with him to discuss the investigation. He stated upfront that since I was the injured person and the complainant in the matter whether to move forward with the investigation. I affixed my signature to a document provided by the inspector to proceed with the investigation. This investigation was important because I was interested in the motive and the people behind this sinister set-up. How did a phone conversation with a foreign person reach the hands of political operatives in Saint Lucia? What was the foreign person’s reward? Was this an attempt to blackmail me into signing the agreement? I wanted these and more questions answered by the investigation, but that did not happen.

While the investigator successfully conducted his investigation locally, he did not get the authorisation to conduct the inquiry in Trinidad, thereby rendering the investigation incomplete. Although not surprising, the investigator informed me that the report he filed with the director of public prosecution contained nothing against me. The director of public prosecution revealed the same to me. I was the complainant seeking redress in the matter.

Unfortunately, the understanding of many, including employers is that there was some wrongdoing on my part which triggered an investigation by the government. However, as stated before, this is a twisted understanding of what happened. I was wronged under the criminal code of Saint Lucia. I have yet to understand the government’s interest in all of this.

An essential aspect of the said press release is the assurance given by the government that it would provide the public with the outcome of the investigations at its conclusion. This press release is dated April 12, 2019. Why hasn’t the government provided a statement on the inquiry for almost five and a half years? This has been a vexing issue for me because without such, it gives the impression that the investigation is still open. Suppose one assumes that the investigation is closed, there is no information from any government agency about its outcome. In essence, this situation figuratively has both my hands and feet chained.

I sought assistance through an attorney in November 2022 to write to the attorney general seeking clarification on the situation. The letter was sent to the attorney general because the press release was from that Chamber. A response by the attorney general in January 2023 stated that the Chamber did not conduct any investigation on me and that the Chamber is the principal legal advisor to the government.

Therefore, since the attorney general chambers did not investigate me and the police investigator did an investigation with me being the complainant, the press release should be rendered null and void. The said press release was removed from the Government of Saint Lucia’s website as ordered by the attorney general at a request by my attorney.

Undesirably, the press release was broadcast and uploaded in full and in part on various local, regional, and international media houses and websites. Thankfully, most of the articles that referred to that investigation were removed when I sought the cooperation of online media personnel. Some still remain.

Although the press release did not come from the police but from the attorney general chambers, the onus is placed on them to provide the public with some concluding statement about the investigation or the lack thereof, at least to clear the air on the matter.

I wrote to former Commissioner of Police Pelius in November 2023 requesting her to issue a public statement concerning the investigation. Among my requests was to state that no investigation was ever conducted against me nor is there any pending investigation against me, and that there is no intended prosecution against me. She retired from office in August 2024. That request was not honored. I do intend to request the same of Police Commissioner Garde.

I regard this as a debilitating injustice to the advancement of my professional career. I have done no wrong to be placed in this rut for so long. The air needs to be cleared because at no time have any criminal complaints been brought against me nor have I done any wrong to warrant any complaints. My record is clear. Instead, I have been the victim of criminal acts in recent times.

Despite this, I have learned that truth could be easily overshadowed by political expediency. And that political expediency is a vicious creature that protects only its own political space. People’s reputation means nothing to that ugly political creature.

Another sad reality is that truth is marred by hate – a thin evil layer above politics. Hate neither hears nor sees any truth. It is cold. It is callous. Hate and politics are deadly forces against one’s reputation. I am living to tell that sad reality. “