News - When it comes to keeping us safe from imagined disasters PJP is still our safest bet!

My recent article on why PJP is the better and safer choice for prime minister of Saint Lucia struck a chord. It even inspired a risible response from thee humorless, albeit potentially serious Minerva Ward. Some readers chose to respond under the article. Others reacted via various platforms. In any case, some of the comments were brought to my attention. No one refuted my claims, but a few sought to engage me in sidebars, the majority of which I will let fly, except to say that although I did not identify the referenced principals everyone correctly identified who was who. Proof that in my article I told no lies and avoided embellishments. There are, nonetheless, a few commentators I wish to address. For those who can only talk about who I horn or who horn me, if you wish to make that your business, well, mind your own business. As for those resentful of my salary, please keep in mind my predecessors were similarly compensated. As no doubt will be my eventual successor. Please note, too, that there was a Consul General before me who, although not at my level of seniority, nevertheless collected a higher foreign service allowance than I do. As we say, that is not true. The implied attitude just underscored is understandable. You cannot challenge my argument, so you seek to distract from its truth. I will not fall for your desperate ploys. And although I am not an elected official, still I hold responsibility for important aspects of the public's business. Let me now quickly deal with the few obviously propagandistic comments that attempted to pass for public concern. One commentator who for good reason is commonly known as 'Tsunami' Myers attempted to dismiss my article as drivel while at the same time claiming he had not read it. What he needed, he said, was more information about GPH, CIP and the Halls of Justice. More proof that a swollen head is no indication of brain capacity. Neither a mind open to new ideas. Nevertheless: When the Pierre administration took office in 2021 it found the company GPH already in negotiations with the Government of Saint Lucia. Philip Pierre was not so reckless as to quickly sign an agreement within six weeks, as was done in the case of DSH. The government, over a period of thirty months, engaged GPH in intense negotiations, determined to improve on what was on the table, and to secure the best possible deal for Saint Lucia. To the clearly uninformed and untutored who insist on suggesting a better deal could've been negotiated by the government, what can I say? Trying to persuade them to arm themselves with the facts before spouting drivel amounts to a mission impossible. Some of my readers lamented that the detailed agreement with GPH has not been made public. The issue is nuanced. The outlines of the agreement have been shared with the public, even though the signed agreement remains at this time classified. Negotiating parties (business and government) do not normally publish terms during negotiations. Governments are constantly engaged in business negotiations and are ever careful not to put in the public domain information that could weaken their hands in subsequent negotiations with future potential investors. I invite Mr. Tsunami and his echoes to contrast PJP's approach with that of the Chastanet administration in the signing of the DSH agreement. Fewer than six weeks into office, Chastanet was so comfortable with the terms of the agreement, despite it being so broad in scope, that he signed it. Chastanet is now accusing the SLP of being hypocritical for criticizing DSH. The way he tells it, they had signaled to Teo Ah King their agreement with his terms. Taking this criticism at face value would mean those crediting Chastanet as a visionary need to reconsider their outrageous generosity. It is his inability to think through situations, as Titus Preville has confirmed, that precluded him from negotiating appropriate terms for what was being considered. On the issue of CIP, the Tsunami is blowing hotter air than the Hindenburg balloon. This is what a judge recently said with reference to claims brought by Chastanet against the CIP: "It is not clear from any of the evidence provided by the claimant (Chastanet) that there is any underselling. What the claimant alleges, is happening in other countries and what he has been told by third parties." Thus, his motion was denied. Most of the suggestions now being advanced to strengthen the CIP across the OECS were already contained in Saint Lucia's original legislation, as designed by Kenny Anthony and diluted by Allen Chastanet. Not sure about the concern about the Halls of Justice. Perhaps the complainer is troubled by its location which he imagines is as vulnerable to tsunamis as, by his account, is the Castries Comprehensive School. I hope the preceding further confirms the validity of my contention that PJP is by far the better and safer choice for Prime Minister of Saint Lucia.