Last Updated on March 23, 2022, 11:38 AM AST by Anthony Morris
“Nepotism is the lowest and least imaginative form of corruption”, a quote which is very well defined by the former Prime Minister of St Lucia – Allen Chastanet. These recent months of new Prime Minister – Philip Pierre led administration made some significant shocking revelations about the working of previous Chatsanet led government, citing it was built on “corruption and nepotism”.
The shreds of evidence have also been provided by the current St Lucian government of their claims and accusations on Chastanet. Last year, in the month of June, some revelations were made, which exposed the Chastanet government and showed there’s an emergency need of probing into the financial operations.
This happened on the talk show “Can I Help You”, as reported towards PAJOHS Limited, via letter January 24, 2019, and a Trinidadian Bank dated February 18, 2020, depicting that St Lucia, which Chastanet was building, its bases were “nepotism” and “corruption”, breaking the trust of St Lucians.
These concerns were already raised by the current Prime Minister – Philip Pierre, at the time when he was in the opposition.
PAJOAH Letter as described in the article, “St Lucia opposition demands PM’s accountability on the controversial letter” of April 8, 2019, then opposition leader of Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) – Philip J Pierre, cites, “I called on the prime minister as well as the minister of finance, Allen Chastanet, to repudiate a seemingly official letter addressed to ‘whom it may concern from the ministry of economic affairs signed by minister Guy Joseph, dated November 12, 2018; and if the letter is indeed authentic that he takes disciplinary action against Joseph.”
“The government ‘has agreed to enter into a contractual relationship with PAJOAH’s Limited’ and purports to commit the government of Saint Lucia to repay a loan of US$62 million or EC$167.4 million at 3.5 percent over a 15-year period for two projects. The projects in question include a street lighting project that had already been financed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the St Jude hospital project.”
In view of PM Pierre, there are numerous uncounted, unsaid, irregular and questionable financial arrangements between agents of government and private individuals and well-recognized firms.
The other article, published on December 11, 2018, by Melanius Alphonse, cites, “With expectations of multiple demolitions of historic buildings in Saint Lucia and proposed infrastructure projects on the horizon, the confidence of the government in Saint Lucia’s economic prospects rests on developing a plan that will focus new initiatives. But, the key to capturing the business opportunities and business potential are friends, family and foreigners (FFF) specific to the informal strategy of economic power and political corruption.”
There are multiple five-star hotel establishments that are owned by Allen Chastanet and his Father – Michael Chastanet, such as – The Coco Palm resort in Rodney Bay.
Meanwhile, addressing the accusations of nepotism, Chastanet in 2020 refuted claims that his Administration cherry picks contractors for capital projects. The government has embarked on a number of multimillion-dollar capital works projects in recent months as part of a major push to upgrade the national infrastructure grid. But giving a statement without any evidence isn’t enough.
The damage which Chastanet and his administration have caused to the island country is being revived by the Pierre government, whether it is mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic, corruption or nepotism.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
