When We Stray From Democracy and Transparency

By James Stanislaus

From the time the SLP won the 2021 elections, the opposition has been preaching the importance of democracy and transparency in government. Yet, despite the compelling case made by the opposition, their reasoned counsel has been rejected, ignored, and, on more than one occasion, utterly ridiculed by the Prime Minister and his team. Notwithstanding, the Leader of the Opposition has remained undeterred and relentlessly persists in his quest for transparency, accountability, democracy and good governance in the Government of St. Lucia to this very day.

Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice William O. Douglas opined, “Secrecy in government is fundamentally anti-democratic, perpetuating bureaucratic errors. Open debate and discussion of public issues are vital to our national health. On public questions, there should be ‘uninhibited, robust, and wide-open’ debate.”

It Is blatantly obvious that this administration is oblivious to the wise instruction of the learned Supreme Court jurist. In St. Lucia, a minister of government, prides herself on having negotiated a “Secret Deal” with a private entity involving the lease of our lucrative cruise ports.

To all appearances, secrecy is the modus operandi of this administration. Major and consequential government projects, contracts and agreements, such as, the Global Ports Holdings (GPH) Agreement, the Halls of Justice Project and the Citizens by Investment Program (CIP) among several others, are clandestinely shrouded by layers upon layers of mystery, speculation, allegations of corruption and overt incompetence.

Any normal levelheaded person or green horned politician ought to understand the importance of democracy and transparency in the good governance of a country’s affairs. So, it is indeed very sad that our entire nation for whatever reason or reasons has remained totally quiet in light of all the evidence of dubious dealings in government and government agencies provided by the opposition and others. Questionable conduct and acts of deliberate circumvention of established laws in this government undertakings and agreements, which are incongruous to good governance and potentially detrimental to the reputation of our country.

Many citizens believe that the CIP program was ill-conceived. They identify the problem as being the non-compliance by the program’s administrators to the principles of transparency and accountability. The members of the boards of Statutory Organization and government agencies , such as the CIP, should comprise competent and uniquely qualified

individuals. Men and women of good character who are experienced and trained in the fields pertinent to the organizational culture, aim, mission, objects, and the effective running of the organization. Unfortunately, what generally obtains in St. Lucia is, government, and quasi-governmental organizations are used by politicians to reward their supporters and election campaign financiers Consequently, the board is usually manned by inexperienced, uneducated, unqualified individuals who are driven not by commitment to the aims, aspirations and objectives of the organization but mainly by greed, personal gain, and selfish ambition. The unfortunate result of the infiltration of partisan politics into these organizations and institutions is inefficiency, corruption, wastage, poor service delivery, and overall inept and usually embarrassing performance.

Sadly, the above described outcome perfectly depicts the present predicament at St. Lucia’s Citizen by Invest Program. The program has the ability to furnish our treasury with much needed revenue without the corruption and confusion which presently plagues it. What is alleged to be taking place in that organization is scandalous and of grave concern.

St Lucia is a lovely country. What is desperately needed is that our people, particularly our leaders, respect the law, follow basic rules and regulations, and adhere to international standards and principles. We have the resources to take care of our people – but power corrupts. It is also evident that the power derived from a two-thirds majority in parliament has magnified corruption in this administration. Unfortunately, St. Lucia is paying a very dear price.

The guardians of the state viz. The Bar Association, the media, civil society, the Chamber of Commerce and the tourism associations have said nothing about the stoppage of the Hewanorra International Airport Project, St Jude’s Hospital Project, the Tavern and Choc Housing Projects, the Rodney Bay 4-lane Highway Project and numerous other infrastructural projects throughout the length and breath of the country. These projects were all shut down at a cost to taxpayers in the amount of approximately $800 million!

How could a small economy like ours sustain that kind of a financial blow within ninety days after a general election? Causing approximately 3000 needy St. Lucians to lose their jobs, retarding the growth of businesses associated with these projects and in many instances dealing a death blow to many other small businesses.

The loss of the financial contribution of those workers and small businesses through tax revenues and general day to day spending has been responsible for the drastic reduction in cash flow in the economy. This reduction in revenue has ultimately pressured the government into excessive borrowing and unnecessary additional taxation which will be

difficult to redress without the resurrection of many of these projects which had the ability of creating their own revenue streams.

Finally, it was unnecessary for this administration to have divested our maritime assets into foreign hands. The state’s finances would have been that much healthier in the long, medium and short term with SLASPA. In closing, can we now rely on our guardians to voice their concerns in the future in light of what we have experienced to date?

“Without commonsense and honesty we shall perish.”