By Caribbean News Global 
TORONTO, Canada – Irrespective of what prime minister Allen Chastanet says, numbers don’t lie in contrast to an administration that is manipulative with the truth, lacks credibility and misrepresents Saint Lucians at home and abroad, as COVID-19 carnage stuns Saint Lucia’s 42nd independence celebrations.
The numbers as reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) reads:
- Friday, February 19, 2021 – 240 new cases of COVID-19, and 3 COVID-19 related deaths;
- Saturday, February 20, 2021 – 218 new cases of COVID-19, and 3 COVID-19 related deaths;
- On Sunday, February 21, 2021 – 57 new cases and one COVID-19 related death; and 32 COVID-19 related deaths;
- The new cases bring the total number of cases diagnosed in the country to date is 3135.
Meanwhile, the Chastanet-led administration of failure and mismanagement has urged Saint Lucians in the diaspora to help address “COVID-19 fake information, and related response,” prime minister Chastanet seems oblivious to many of his pronouncements, some more foolhardy in recent times.
“The image of our country is too important to allow it to be ruined by simply sharing a fake post or a false news story,” Chastanet declared. “So please, think before you share. We’ve begun to roll out the vaccine. We are improving our testing and enforcement of the protocols. And I believe our people are truly rising to the occasion, understanding the impact of a shutdown on our small economy,” Chastanet said.
The fact is: Barbados and Dominica shared 3,000 doses of Oxford AstraZeneca with the people of Saint Lucia. Of the 1,500 frontline workers outlined to receive the vaccines, this includes United Workers Party (UWP) operatives, political servants and agents.
The prime ministers’ fantasy and delusion is even more pronounced to express:
“COVID has not been able to break our spirit or dull our enthusiasm in striving to create a better Saint Lucia. In fact, we were well on track to achieving that goal when the pandemic broke out at the beginning of 2020,” he continued. “By then, we had brought back economic growth to Saint Lucia. We had managed to significantly reduce unemployment levels, as well as our debt to GDP ratio,” Chastanet said.
The fact is: “BE IT RESOLVED that Parliament approves an extension of time to lay the Estimates before Parliament, by a new date, no later than fifteen days before the 31st day of March, 2021, due to the impact of COVID-19 on the human resources of the Department of Finance and other Government departments and agencies, involved in the budget preparation process.”
At Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Assembly motions for consideration is expected to borrow US$37 million to supplement the imperceptible “allocation of EC$548 million for the COVID-19 recovery effort.”
Contrary to the prime minister’s hue and cry of “fake news and misrepresentation” relating to Saint Lucia’s COVID-19 response, perhaps the government of Saint Lucia should look within and have a true confession observing the 40 days of Lent (Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter) for having failed Saint Lucians at this critical time – COVID-19 response and Saint Lucias 42nd independence anniversary. Neither of which are backed up by reality.
The government has driven the people to a life of fear instead of the primary objective “to eradicate an existential threat, COVID-19, in order to save lives, primarily, and not economies over lives,” says Dr Alphonsus St Rose, Independent Candidate for Choiseul/Saltibus explained.
“It is now time for the government of Saint Lucia to take full responsibility for the disastrous war on COVID-19 as the livelihoods over lives mind-set, driving bad policy decisions, has today failed us and is responsible for our continued rising numbers. Our government is complicit in this potentially dangerous and irresponsible approach to protecting lives and livelihoods by misrepresenting the context in which we need to coexist with COVID-19.”
By comparison to Barbados, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia needs and deserve leadership from the civil service and politicians (who take an oath to serve the country, in exchange for remuneration) to stop the carnage of COVID-19 and provide solutions to significant social and economic decline.
Sadly, the people are not getting this from either of the professional class assigned. The underlying assumption is, they are unable to offer answers, outside acting higgledy-piggledy. Now that is more problematic.
