The Saint Lucia Labour Party calls on Guy Joseph, as the minister responsible for the Constituency Development Programme, to end his vindictive behaviour and settle with contractors who were contracted to perform CDP contracts prior to the last general election.
In an interview with HTS News, Minister Guy Joseph accused former Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony of breaking “the rules that they themselves established.”
According to the SLP, the CDP was a creation of the UWP during its tenure from 2006 to 2011. The SLP made two changes. Firstly, it increased the staff employed in the project since, under the UWP, the project had no secretarial support. Secondly, to end the blatant corruption of former UWP parliamentarians, it insisted that all funds received from the Republic of China (Taiwan) be placed in the consolidated fund as required by law.
It is absurd to suggest that persons who were engaged by the CDP do not have lawful contracts. Where engineers were employed on projects, it was well known that they were paid a rate of 10% on the value of the projects. This was no different from what occurred under the UWP between 2006 and 2011.
When the SLP was elected to office in 2011, it met several claims from contractors who were instructed to undertake contracts by former and present parliamentarians of the UWP. Where no contracts could be found, payment was made to these contractors on the strength of letters from those parliamentarians confirming these contracts.
Further, it was well-established practice that once funds were assured for the programme, contractors were engaged and paid once the quarterly allocation was received from the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
“It is,” says the SLP, “ludicrous to deny payments to contractors on the whimsical notion that advice has to be sought from an Attorney General whom, Guy Joseph, of all people, could trust.”