Written By: Jeff Fedee
Opposition Leader Kenny Anthony certainly does not live in a glass house and the UWP is throwing stones right back at him. Is he helping or hurting his own party?
I am confronted sometimes by people who say: “I have not seen articles from you in recent times Jeff, have you stopped writing?” My response invariably is, I am engaged in a tactical silence, until closer to elections. While a tactical silence may be golden, a blanket silence, as the adage suggests, is not. For if man had remained in perpetual silence, man would still be in chains enslaved by oligarchs and all manner of dictators and despots.
According to the biblical exhortation there is a time and a season for everything—a time to heal, and a time to kill; a time to love and a time to hate; a time to speak and a time to be silent or hold your peace.
A period of silence should be a period for contemplation, for taking notes, for observing, until you re-emerge with something incisive or important to say. I therefore aim to give a balanced view of the objective conditions that exist in the political arena today.
What I observe at this juncture of our political history is that reason and good sense have disappeared from public affairs. We seem to be at a point in the political life of St Lucia when frivolous matters are the order of the day. It seems that citizens of this country are not being offered clear or realistic choices on the best way forward for this country in order to solve the problems that plague the society.
Issues such as unemployment, and the limited opportunities available for the young; the critical situation of housing in St Lucia in which the needs of lower and middle—income earners are not being addressed; teenage pregnancy; a degrading environment and a decline in the moral and spiritual life of our people.
Despite the political malaise that exists, attempts to agitate and stir up political turmoil have failed abysmally, as the public remains unresponsive to calls for more political activism in the country. Instead, the issues that are raised are largely frivolous, directed at selected individuals who are inconsequential to the future of the country when they will inevitably be booted out.
There have been no concrete solutions offered as an alternative to steer the country through the treacherous waters that we have to navigate.
The political rhetoric is concentrated purely on calls for individuals in the government to resign: such as Dr Keith Mondesir, Richard Frederick and Dr Nicholas Frederick, AG.
I have in the past chastised the leader of the opposition to deal with more profound issues rather than tissues, when in the shadows of the past administration there were indiscretions and unlawful acts of similar proportion that were, committed.
The outrage displayed over what has been described as the Tuxedo Villas Affair must be contrived, when what has subsequently been exposed are gross evasions of customs duties by innumerable people in St Lucia for the staging of World Cup Cricket.
Most prominent was the exposé that illustrated that an entire cabinet of SLP Ministers facilitated the questionable grant of duty free concessions to the owner of Baron Foods.
I need to state that Mr Baron Foods, as he is sometimes referred to, is a man to whom St Lucia owes a debt of gratitude for putting the island on the international stage for his excellence in the quality of product he manufactures and the packaging which puts him among four companies operating in St Lucia which have attained international standards of excellence for our island because their products can stand shoulder to shoulder with the top brands anywhere in the world. Do you know what companies these are? In my book they are St Lucia Distillers, Baron Foods, Windward & Leeward Brewery, and Star Publishing. (I have perused travel magazines from throughout the region and St Lucia’s Traveller is the best, which has eclipsed even Barbados, well known for its high standards.)
But I digress. I ask myself, why would one of the wealthiest men in St Lucia compromise his reputation by seeking duty-free concessions under World Cup, when it appears he can more than afford it? It would take a lot to convince the ordinary man that this gentleman needs to add rooms to his palatial house in Rodney Bay, and requires paying guests to earn extra revenue? Was there anyone in the Cabinet with an ounce of moral fibre who expressed discomfort over this decision?
And those who would suggest their normal intelligence to argue that we may frighten foreign investors by naming them in such circumstances are off kilter. The symbols of law and justice are the scale and a blind-folded figure. Foreign investors are expected to behave scrupulously and above board, and anytime they flout our laws they should be exposed like any other citizen.
In the call for the resignation of Attorney General, Dr Nicholas Frederick St Lucians do not have such short memories that they have forgotten the confounding and disgusting appearance of former Attorney General Petrus Compton appearing on the platform of the SLP in a blazing red shirt, at a Market Steps meeting.
This was unprecedented in St Lucian politics, because although a political appointment, elevation to that office makes one the guardian of the constitution and the laws of St Lucia, to see that the laws are scrupulously observed, and to represent the interests of the people and state.
As far as the other matters which the opposition leader rails about such as the purchase of the Daher building, again the same aspersions and criticisms can be directed at the Labour Administration over the purchase of the JQ Charles building in the centre of Castries. This was a building constructed at a time when building standards were less rigorous, yet our national bank and NIC were urged to purchase that building, in which the astronomical cost is still under wraps. Two SLP engineers, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, were some of the financial beneficiaries who gave the building a passing grade.
St Lucia is like a provincial town where everybody knows everybody’s business. They know if you snore in bed, what you eat at home and who you go to bed with. Nothing can be hidden in the dark and kept as a secret. This accounts for the lukewarm reception to Dr Anthony when he is pointing accusatory fingers when the public knows full well about the cronyism and reckless expenditure which some called corruption under this administration. Rather than engage in political discourse that deals in larger issues and concepts we descend to the level of pettiness.
What are some of those larger issues that should be addressed? There is a benign disinterest by the youth in the politics of the country which manifests itself in anti-social behaviour. This is in marked contrast to the era of the dynamic duo of George Odlum and Peter Josie, who inspired the young of my generation with their oratory which exhorted the young that the country needed their minds to be sharp and alert, and not be perpetually dazed in a fog of smoke for the task of creating a progressive society. That the only way to advance in life and improve ourselves was the pursuit of an advanced education and many heeded that call, when at the time there were only a few university educated St Lucians. The halls of our institutions are now filled with well qualified St Lucians. Our women have superceded and eclipsed men in that respect, but this a subject matter to be dealt with at greater length. Our young men idle around the block, with their minds in a fog of smoke, and ultimately a life of crime and early death are the predictable outcomes.
No solutions have been offered to ameliorate those conditions that contribute to the escalation in crime such as the establishment of a National Service, to absorb and engage our young men in particular, in productive pursuits, inculcating in them the values of discipline, physical and mental fitness, and learning a skill.
No plan has been considered or presented to deal with the manpower needs of the country which are glaringly evident, without the technical knowledge to deal with it. Consider the large number of vehicles on our roads. Do we have the trained technicians and mechanics to deal efficiently with all of those vehicles? With the astronomical increase in all manner of modern appliances, as well as the construction of homes do we have a sufficiency of plumbers, electricians, computer repair-men, air-condition, washing-machines and refrigeration service men?
There is a global concern for the preservation of the environment. One of our most valuable resources is our dramatic landscape and lush vegetation. The mindless discard of garbage all over the country and the reckless vandalizing by the destruction of public property threatens the beauty and pristine nature of St. Lucia which is the magnet that draws people to our island. Have our politicians proposed harsh penalties for thoughtless polluters and vandals.
I have had the privilege of visiting Taiwan and it is a model for what a relatively small country can achieve with the discipline and pride inculcated in its people. As anyone who has visited that country can account you will not see a cigarette butt on the streets or pavements of Taiwan, nor ugly globs of chewing gum on the platform of railway stations, nor floating plastic bottles, and bags which create an unseemly sight in our rivers after a rainy day.
Our coastline has been deformed by the monstrosity that is Le Paradis, in an area that should have been preserved for its natural beauty, and left just as it was formed from the beginning of time, with the sea-gulls and other species of birds diving and squawking, making a dramatic view, as the sea lashes the rugged rocks and create an explosion of white surf. Five thousand acres of valuable St Lucian land sold for EC $10 million (a pittance) to build condos and a golf-course for the idle rich.
Only a philistine would not have the vision to see that this land should have remained as St Lucia’s patrimony and a legacy for future generations for a measly $10 million which the government could have purchased with certain areas reserved for all kinds of agricultural endeavours.
In conclusion I wish to draw attention to attempts to create social insurrection in the country. The conditions for the creation of social friction and discord are totally absent in St Lucia. The conditions that must coalesce to bring about revolution or the forceful overthrow of a government are political oppression coupled with military repression; lack of freedom of expression such as a free press; the arbitrary arrest of citizens; the assassination and disappearance of political opponents and large disparities between the wealthy and the poor, with the vulgar display of wealth and conspicuous consumption.
Critics are free to air their views on the airwaves and newspapers have free rein without fear of victimization or threat of closure. There is no other place in the world that I know where an opposition group would be given permission to demonstrate against a government for the express purpose of bringing it down and be provided with state security, a cordoned off route to facilitate the demonstrators and provided with a platform in the center of the city to vilify the government.
We need to grow up politically as a nation, and stop the criticism of things that can be thrown right back in your backyard. Instead, discuss issues that offer plans and alternatives that bring hope to hope to our people and create and enhance our society.
Remember the SLP ruled for two consecutive terms unhindered, without a whimper from the opposition. It is time to take a tactical silence, for it is the people in the final analysis who will make the final judgement on the performance and competence of the government.
