Will Philip J. Pierre Keep his Promises to the People?

Our view on the Pulse

Frustration levels amongst residents are palpably high.  It is clear that hopelessness, grief, poverty, and a longing for better have enveloped this country. Philip J. Pierre then finds himself in a favourable position.  A desire for change plays into the hands of the opposition.  For the UWP therefore, the race to the polls is now an uphill battle but this doesn’t mean that the SLP should expect a walk over.

The St. Lucia Labour Party’s Strategic Advantage

The Labour Party did well to have elected the longest standing parliamentarian in the person of Philip J. Pierre to its leadership after Dr. Kenny Anthony’s 2016 post general elections resignation.  He was clearly the most obvious successor having been in cabinet, acted as Prime Minister and held the Castries East constituency for many years.  

Yet an election victory is not a fiat accompli.  

SLP Party Hacks

The intractable problem for most disenchanted voters in 2016 was the inability of Dr. Kenny Anthony to loosen himself from the party hacks that hung onto the skirts of his garments. In 2021 voters have not forgotten.  They will want an assurance from Philip J. Pierre that he will not lumber Saint Lucia with party hack liabilities once again.  

Even now the voices of Labour Party hacks can be heard on local radio and television talk shows and across internet platforms like Facebook campaigning for an SLP victory.  Many of them are campaigning with the hope that they will secure public sector direct award contracts and cushy jobs.

The culture of party hackings features plundering supporters on both sides of the political divide. But in this piece, Philip J. Pierre takes centre stage. The Saint Lucia Labour Party’s political leader must answer the question, “how”.  

How will a Philip J. Pierre led administration keep the hackers at bay?

How will Philip J. Pierre prevent economic mismanagement, cost overruns, fake cost estimates especially for construction and road works, nepotism in the award of contracts and the surrender of our economic inheritance to strangers from abroad?

How does Philip J. Pierre propose to force accountability from the leaders of today that must pay back tomorrow for their plunderous doings which have gained them the whole world except their very souls?

The SLP’s Plan

Philip J. Pierre has repeatedly given the people the assurance that “an SLP government will put the people of St. Lucia first”. On the Cabot debacle he made the point that “an SLP government would have kept more for the assets of the people of Saint Lucia and for the pensioners’ funds”.

Would have!  Could have!  Should have!

But the media and public are not satisfied. We want to know why public servants and politicians are not prosecuted for corrupt practices in government when they can be proven. Pierre promised to use the Integrity Commission, an institution established under section 118 of the Saint Lucia Constitution and proposed supporting legislation to ensure that there is no abuse of the coffers and no conflict of interest in the award of contracts.  

But voters will trust neither the government nor the opposition on the corruption issue.  Corruption pervades the political landscape across electoral terms and the Integrity Commission is never useful except to support campaign rhetoric and false promises.  After elections politicians often ignore both the constitution and the Integrity Commission. 

We can be Persuaded

We agree with Philip J. Pierre that “the conflict of interest issue is a very serious issue’ and that there needs to be ‘daylight’ in the contract awarding procedures.  We are encouraged by his promise that a Labour Party government will look into these issues very closely.  

But will it? Will the Saint Lucia Labour Party keeps its promise to the people if it is elected into government or will it do just as the UWP is doing now?

Philip J. Pierre, we are listening.  Keep talking for at the very least you have our ear.

Our vote is still in our hands!