Letters & Opinion, Politics

Desperation and Fraud

THE EDITOR:
THE Labour Party’s penchant for mischief continues to be exposed but they simply will not relent. The latest manifestation of this is the continuous attacks on UWP leader Allen Chastanet which appeared in both your newspaper and the government’s publication NATIONWIDE on Saturday April 4.

I question your wisdom, Mr. Editor, in allowing the ruling Party space in your paper to launch this kind of assault on the UWP leader repeatedly week after week. One would have hoped that the SLP would use this opportunity to impart vital information to your readers about its plans and programmes for our country, how it plans to restore the economy, create employment, attract investment etc. etc. Instead we find the Labour Party taking up space in the newspaper to launch a personal campaign against Allen Chastanet, as though that will help them win the next election. It will not.

On April 4, however, the fraud being perpetrated by the SLP was exposed. In your paper when an article appeared written by the party’s faceless writer Stephen Lester Prescott, who by now, everyone knows is a fraud. There is no such person in St Lucia or anywhere else. Then in NATIONWIDE which is produced for the same government, the same article appears under the name Maryanna Williams, another fraud. No such person exists either.

I challenge Stephen Lester Prescott and Maryanna Williams to publish their photos in the media—and I hope you would oblige them, Mr. Editor– so that people can see who they are. I make the challenge because I know that they are both frauds. That the Labour Party which usually promotes itself as paragons of virtue and honesty, could be perpetuating such fraud, is nothing but despicable

It is obvious that it is sheer desperation that has the Labour Party resorting to fraud. It is the same desperation that now has it trying to foment strife and controversy within the UWP with all kinds of deception. The UWP leader has shown greater maturity by refusing to respond to the SLP’s campaign of lies and distortion and even that is working against the SLP as have the Lambirds matter and now, the resurgence of violent crime in the city in the wake of the IMPACS “report”.

The SLP’s own performance in government in the last three years has produced nothing but hardship for the people of St Lucia. Individually, the performance of its ministers has been pathetic; collectively it has been disastrous and non productive. This is what the voters will be faced with on election day, not Allen Chastanet’s past. In fact, his past is better than that of the SLP. He spent $2 million on Boxing in Paradise which failed, so what? The SLP lost $100 million on Rochamel and sought to hide it from the public. Then how much did they lose and failed to account for at the NCA?

It is also ironic that the SLP has launched this massive attack against Allen and Michael Chastanet, both of whom continue to provide sustainable jobs for the people of St Lucia while all the SLP can give us is STEP and NICE.

–E.R Alcindor

5 Comments

  1. Are you related to the great Lew Alcindor of the Milwakee Bucks who, like Cassius Clay, converted and became K A Jabber.
    Nevertheless, your attempt at journalistic “sky hook-loop” hoping for a sympathetic hoop, is more like that of an abysmal crook, to say the least!
    Firstly, in order to espouse democratic principles the journalistic estate is more like a grand buffet (serving all),
    less of an exclusive 5 course meal from a 5 star French chef in a privileged restaurant. Now, you know why the buffets at Las Vegas Casinos are so popular.
    If I wanted SMUT, I would read the London SUN or the New York POST.

    Secondly, the leader of the opposition party has regular contributors (Fedee, Josie, his dad, et al ) whose writings tend to be 15-25% subject matter and 75- 85% political bias (as in sophisticated “la bou”. In the past, a good farmer could have mixed in some compost with the “Troumassee” brand of la bou, to nurture a field of bananas. Not so with today’s nouveau mud-smut slingers. If this were a strong multi party state-like Israel- their heraldry would sound the pathway to party oblivion.

    Thirdly, between Mr. Josie’s most recent drivel about the coming election being a royal “joust” between the Castle of Chas and the SLP- and your current “grovel”;
    -both of you are signaling a lack of “teflon” in the hide-epidermis of your contender. You lack persuasion. Are you throwing in the towel of “no mas”?

    Fourthly, the writers who support the incumbent, actually manage to fuse / weld empathy for St. Lucia’s crisis, to political support for its embattled prime minister.

    Fifthly, (Beethoven doth comes to mind) economic success has been known to breakup very good marriages (e.g., Diana Ross & The Supremes, Teddy Pendergrass & The Blue Notes, Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five). Unfortunately, for Chas it’s neither his genotype nor his Phenotype that is his Quixotic political windmill. Rather, it is the perception of his frugal /thrifty INHERITED “personal” economic wallet, juxtaposed with his “living large” with the public purse strings (former APPOINTED tourism “czar”).
    Therein, is the barometer and vane for the politically astute.

    Frankly, if I were Fair Helen, I would buy a citizenship for Mr Allen Greenspan (former chairman of the Federal Reserve -under 4 presidents) and elect him to get us out of this economic quagmire.
    Mais, “si parque fait legowehn”, n’est pas?

    The question for “Denmark” is “whether a privileged member of the super upper crust , who has had the great fortune of ministerial stewardship-sans electoral representation –
    whose bold gambits – with age -taste more like Chef Compton’s vinaigrette than a prized Napa Pinot Noir- is a better suitor at the helm of state than the incumbent who tries to include all-including the Malaway- within the economic liabilities of the state.

    That is the question? Whether Chas is more like President Bush (the son) or
    Dr. Kenny Anthony MORE like President Kennedy who wrote and inspired Dr. MLKing’s blue print for THE CIVIL RIGHT’s ACT that finally reconciled President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Yes, president Johnson’s signature is on this famous BILL OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS but it was Kennedy -privileged son of the upper crust- who made it happen. The same one who gave the 3 rd world the mantra of the Peace Corps -as in educational support services to give future generations a head start at achievement.

    Within this comparative matrix, Chas is more like Joe Strummer of The Clash singing “London Calling” to
    Dr Anthony as Bono with the Harlem Gospel Choir singing ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I Am Searching For”
    I shall link both videos, subsequently.

  2. Follow the political leaders of ALBA. misery in Cuba and Venezuela. Fantastic choice to embrace
    Taiwan, handing out nice bribes. China would have been a far better choice. But the USA decided what small St. Lucia had to do.

  3. Robert
    The entire Northern hemisphere (except Canada and Venezuela with deep -even untapped reserves of energy for the latter and energy and minerals for the former) had the buoyancy -even surplus- to weather the global economic nose dive.
    Yes the US has stockpiles reserved for Armageddon type meltdown and lightly tapped fracking or coal reserves to supplement overall domestic consumption, but still, as a global power, its situation was precariously on very short thrift. One needs tremendous energy to position navy, air and ground forces to deter or engage global trouble spots. One aircraft carrier group (air arm and escort entourage fleet) in full battle regalia/posting (all its attack and defense squadrons are airborne, destroyers and carriers are churning at near high speed ; consumes more barrels of crude oil (adjusting for varying levels of refinement) than lil ole St. Lucia-in a day.
    Hence, the “sardine” and “minnow” nations had to find petro derivatives with financial arrangements lower than the “fair market”.
    Thankfully, the available “good Samaritan” was regional. This is an important reality in terms of hemispheric integration. At the end of a decade, political ideology goes through its evolutionary process. Clinton and Obama have acted more like neo Republicans strategists. to consolidate their fiscal policies.
    Moreover, it is the goodwill of nations (especially in times of need) that distillates to the higher conscience levels of the human spirit. The echo of God’s admonition in the post Cain /Abel debacle resonates clearly. We are made aware of God’s advice to Love thy Neighbor as thyself and to be your brother’s keeper.
    The USSR has effectively distanced itself from Stalin and China from Mao (however, world power status weaves its own unique set of proclivities that are stubbornly addictive).

    In hindsight, ALBA did for St. Lucia what the US may have done, had the economic oceans been less turbulent and its military obligations less stretched. Still, ALBA is a better regional- hemispheric outreach than Lucas Oil of Russia- you may have to meltdown all the island’s gold jewelry and dentistry to pay for a soviet oil deal 🙂
    Comparatively, the KINGDOM of Saudi Arabia and neighboring royal Sultanates are friends to nations of every type of political ideology. Yet, politically, culturally and religiously they are as far removed on said continuum from their global partners. They thrive to GET ALONG. To the extent that they broker peace initiatives ( at great national risk) within their region.

    Why not St. Lucia? Our GETTING ALONG spirit is well fermented (no pun intended) in the coexistence of our rainbow of cultures and religions. Isn’t this realistic human resource of St. Lucia worth a focus for celebrating and expanding beyond our limited shores.
    Perchance our innate ability to be “copasetic” is as unique as the Pitons.
    Viva St. Lisee !

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