IN response to a party hack codenamed Justin T. Charles, we take this opportunity to respond in sequence to his prevarications:
Unprecedented Homicide Rate
In 1998 was the SLP administration forced to implement “Restore Peace”, and why? In 2010, was the UWP forced to implement “Restore Confidence”? In 2017, St. Lucia witnessed 60 homicides, why? As a result of the infamous IMPACS fiasco which tied the hands of our enforcement personnel, the situation became extremely sensitive, coupled with the fact of the sub-standard living of the under-privileged. This will, however, be addressed in 2018 as the PM unravels the IMPACS matter and works in harmony with our law enforcement team.
Selected Mortality
Successive administrations have paid lip service to the living conditions of the under-privileged and to date the SLP has not accepted the fact that deplorable standards will undoubtedly breed unacceptable behaviour. The squalor at Marchand, Faux-A-Chaux and Bruceville are prime examples of crime-infested areas, so our PM is on target with his response that the morality of our people must be addressed.
The situation in Antigua between PM Gaston Browne and Asot Michael is totally different to the analogy referred to in St. Lucia as the British government has their facts and Gaston Browne knew exactly what he had to do. In St. Lucia, we have a situation where a flawed social media deliberately sets out to incriminate innocent persons.
Abuse of Parliament
The SLP parliamentarians set about playing games in an effort to make their contribution at prime time which backfired on them, permitting the government to exercise their preparatory duties during a specific time. These are the hard facts that one has to deal with when plans so well engineered falter.
Offshore Alert
The Grynberg issue will not go away until the former PM comes clean and gives a candid version of how St. Lucia found itself in this mess — both financially and development-wise — while Grenada is now well on its way to producing natural gas from its sea bed and St. Lucia continues to wallow in legal wranglings with Jack Grynberg. The Hewanorra International Airport development was halted personally by the former PM’s decision by stopping the head tax which was already in progress and approved by IATA and which would have financed the project in its entirety. Additionally, the plans for the airport were drawn up by American Airlines free of charge but the SLP administration subsequently paid some US$2 million to obtain the same plans based upon the fact that they wanted to use a different contractor. The IFC does not give airports for free and that is what the SLP administration has not come to grips with.
Direct Awards
Every contract given by the Direct Award agreement was structured for various St. Lucian contractors to benefit and not one contractor getting the largest slice of the pie. This shows a government which cares about the survival of all and not one.
Convenience Means When It Suits The PM
The SLP has 6 members of parliament who were offered the position of deputy speaker and they have consistently declined. Does this suggest that the SLP is really interested in conforming to parliamentary regulations? We leave it to the public to form their own opinion.
Oswald Augustin