Minister Guy Joseph says, he is all Ears

Marvin Edgar of the National Youth Council, calls the idea for the Privatization of Water in St Lucia, “a negatively, unsound, irrational decision, while Andrew Antoine, Public Relations Officer of the Civil Society Network chides the government for appearing to renege on their promise to St Lucians of rejecting the idea which had been previously put forward by the former government. He contends that the same government which did not want water privatization now wants to “remove it from government and put it in the hands of water barons.” Meantime Flavia Cherry, well known Feminist, lamented the 20% for St Lucians and 40% for investors deal, saying that St Lucians should be “in on the deal.” For her part, she is of the view that St Lucians are being duped not having adequate information on the matter and not being sufficiently allowed in on the discussions of the “water for trade” affair.
However, amid the noise and the anxiety relating to government’s intention to privatize St Lucia’s water, Minister for Communications Works, Transport and Public Utilities the Hon. Guy Joseph said that government is listening to the concerns expressed about the issue. In a radio broadcast, Joseph said that the prospect of the citizenry believing that government is taking an insular approach to the situation is not one to be entertained by the St Lucian citizenry.

He acknowledged the concerns particularly indicated by the Civil Society Network but observed that the organization was perhaps being a tad too hasty in their response to the proposal for privatization. According to the Minister, it is all well and good for objections to be raised but the manner in which the regards are aired is important. He suggests that the business of water privatization by the NGO in question might be leaning towards confrontation and in his opinion it is not the ideal way to handle such a sensitive affair.
“I don’t want the Civil Society group to believe that the government is just being careless and we are just going to go ahead and that we are not hearing their concerns. But there is a proper way to express these concerns. I want people to understand that my reactions are different.”
According to the Minister, the proposal for privatization is being discussed and he will review the matter from all angles before making a final decision.
As for the 20% for St Lucia and 40% for foreign investor argument, the Minister said that, nothing has been etched in stone, there is no guarantee that any deals will in fact be made to that effect, neither has he been signatory to any agreement. “We have not signed the contract. Nothing has been settled.”