Chastanet Challenges SLP On CIP, Infrastructure Programme

At a recent United Workers Party (UWP) briefing, opposition leader Allen Chastanet responded critically to the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) administration’s recent defending statements and current handling of the Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP), voicing concerns over transparency and accountability. During last week’s Sitting of the House of Assembly, Castries South MP and Investment Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire delivered an impassioned defense of the current administration’s CIP operations. However, Chastanet characterised Hilaire’s approach as “cowardly,” expressing dissatisfaction with the format in which the minister addressed the allegations against him and other officials. “Instead of holding a major press conference, where he could have delivered the statement he gave in the house, and then allowed reporters and maybe even people from civil society to have been there to question him, instead he chose the cowardly way of dealing with this issue,” Chastanet said. He criticised Hilaire’s choice to use a ministerial statement at the House’s opening, pointing out that this approach left no room for immediate response or questions. “While the Minister is giving his speech there are to be no interruptions and no questions are allowed to be asked… That’s why I call it the cowardly way of dealing...