By Crusader Correspondent
December 11, 2010 marked the end of four years of the UWP government, four year of sole and total UWP control. But it’s also been four years during which St. Lucians made a clear comparison between Dr Kenny Anthony as Prime Minister of a Labour Government and the UWP government -- whether led by Sir John Compton or by Stephenson King.
Costly Lessons
But it’s also been four years of very costly lessons for St. Lucia. We have lost out pride of place in the Caribbean and have instead become the laughing stock of the region. From the break with China for Taiwan to the death of Sir John; from the dismissal of Cabinet Minister Rufus Bousquet to his return at the cost of Cabinet Minister Ausbert d’Auvergne; from the arrest of Cabinet Minister Edmund Estephane and Deputy Speaker Marcus Nicholas on traffic violations to the disappearance and dismissal of their respective cases; from the arrest of Cabinet Minister Richard Frederick on tax evasion charges to the legal rulings by High Court judges against Cabinet Ministers Keith Mondesir and Allen Chastanet (also relating to tax evasion), St Lucians have been made to bow our heads in shame everywhere else in the world.
But it’s not just the criminality of the government that’s been exposed these past four years. Their lack of ideas, their incompetence and their failure to understand even the first things about governance has also been laid bare. They have borrowed enough to double the country’s national debt by the time they leave office. They have not only failed to deliver on their promises, but have engaged in lavish spending on senseless projects like the Daher Building and rental of the American Drywall Building and the Baywalk Mall, while failing to deliver one house at the Marigot or Monchy where poor people were promised access to homes.
Crime is out of hand. The UWP cried to Heaven and Hell when the murder rate reached 46 in election year 2006. They won the election on a platform promise of addressing and reducing the crime rate, but after just four years the murder rate under the UWP has set a new all-time record, approaching 50 as the 2010 came to an end. We have lived to see someone shot dead in the Prime Minister’s constituency office and to hear him tell us that “No one is safe in St. Lucia.”
We have seen this UWP government, under Stephenson King, fail and bungle from crisis to crisis, disaster to disaster. They can’t start rebuilding the St. Jude Hospital, can’t bale Dennery out of is water and flooding woes and still can’t do anything about Hurricane Tomas’ damage. It took the Prime Minister one month to address the nation on Tomas, six weeks to observe a moment of silence for the dead -- and two months later people are still living in tents.
Responsible Opposition
On the other hand, the past four years have seen Kenny Anthony and the Labour Party lick their wounds and bide their time. Dr Kenny Anthony and the SLP have spoken out on every issue affecting St. Lucia and St. Lucians. Every week has seen and heard a statement either criticizing government stupidity or offering sound advice. They have offered sound advice on everything from parliamentary procedures, to proper financial management and regulation, to judicial and legal practices.
In the past four years, Dr Anthony and Labour have refrained from saying or doing anything that can be considered irrational or politically irregular. Instead of crying vengeance on the UWP for everything they’ve done to St. Lucia and to Labour supporters, they have been tending to their constituencies and laying the basis for organizing their supporters ahead of the next general elections. They have held their conventions and political meetings, a few rallies included, but have behaved responsibly as the political opposition.
St. Lucians in the past four years have been able to compare governance under the SLP and under the UWP. They have been able to distinguish between the millions of dollars spent by the UWP trying to prove allegations of impropriety in the Rochamel and NCA affairs, and the millions being lost to the Treasury as a result of the sort of impropriety that UWP Cabinet Ministers are being accused of.
Missing Kenny
St. Lucians and Caribbean people have come to miss Kenny Anthony. Regional Caricom governments continue to tap on his legal skills while the UWP administration continues to treat his legal advice as not worth considering.
Dr Anthony’s stature as a Caribbean statesman continues to grow as the laws he drafted for Caricom and the issues he championed take form and bear fruit. His role in promoting and defending the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is again coming into focus even today, as Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago try to water it down to nothing. His role in creating aviation legislation for the OECS and the importance of the advice he offered the UWP administration in Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet’s senseless spat with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has also come into focus in the Caricom Airways affair, now that the airline has been grounded by the OECS aviation authorities.
Kenny Anthony’s experience in handling several tropical storm and hurricane disasters and landslides and floods and his knowledge of how to approach international and regional financial bodies for assistance has been terribly ignored by this administration, while the government side-tracked NEMO and ministers took over and politicized the distribution of aid and supplies. As a result, recovery and repair after Tomas is still a wild dream for thousands across the country.
Beginning of the end
December 12th marked the beginning of this government’s last year in office. They may choose to call the elections early or late, but, constitutionally, it must be called in one year.
All signs are that St. Lucians of all political stripes and colours are fed up with this Stephenson King government. Even UWPees are increasingly abandoning their party as they find it impossible to defend this government ahead of the next genera elections. The government is batting on the back foot, unable to do anything that will make it look any better in the eyes of the electorate between now and Election Day.
As a result of all the above, it’s clear that 2011 is set to be Kenny Anthony’s and Labour’s year, when they can benefit from the people’s disgust with their government. All signs are that Labour can replace the UWP at the next general elections, whenever they are called.
But will they? Who can say for sure? Remember December 2006?
Labour can say that the foot is on the other foot now, but it also knows that he lection s never won until the final vote is counterd.
It’s now for the SLP and Dr Antony to start 2011 with the continuation of their mobilization and organization across the country to ensure that every available vote is won and counted at the next general elections.
In keeping with its responsible level of leadership, the SLP and its leaders must now begin to tell and show the nation, in even greater detail and in more frequent ways, how ready it is for the task of rescuing St. Lucia from the rut it will be in by the time the next elections are called.
So great will be the task of recovery that, even from now, Labour will have to start thinking of a Five Year Plan to rescue the country and recover our pride.
The SLP cannot and should not wait until the election date is set to show how ready it is to bring good governance back to St. Lucia. It must take no chances and leave nothing to chance. It must start 2011 on an election footing and keep on marching until Election Day. That’s the only way it be able to stop the slide and restore our nation’s pride.
