By Kurt Reynolds
The rules of Parliament definitely don’t apply when at the Market Steps. And the St Lucia Labour Party used the opportunity last Wednesday at the normal SLP meeting area to say everything they could not say during the Budget debate at the House. There was no Speaker calling for "Order!" as Laborie MP Alva Baptiste let loose on the government and Prime Minister Stephenson King’s budget.
"Everything Labour has said to you has come to pass," began Baptiste to his massive audience. "We told you in the 1980s that the glory days of the banana industry would have ended. What did flambeaus call us? Prophets of doom and gloom. From 1987 they knew that we were going to lose the preferential treatment but they did not prepare the nation for anything. How you prepare for the bad days is to save during the good years.
"Before the 2006 general elections, we told you that at Sir John’s age, because of the pressures of political office, he would have to bow out prematurely and that there was going to be a crisis in this country in terms of leadership. Isn’t it happening now?" he questioned. "During the budget, I saw Ezechiel sitting there humming. I said to him, what are you doing there? He said ‘brother, I am learning to drive, because the new driver cannot drive!’" said Baptiste to the roar of the crowd.
Surely the Laborie MP didn’t miss having to address the Speaker or refer to his colleagues in the third person. His fiery address went on: "We told you that the casualties of a flambeau victory would have been the poor, the marginalized and the dispossessed. What is happening today? Approximately 1700 families were affected because they dismissed everybody in the STEP program. What happen to UHC?" Baptiste said that the country is facing rising fuel and food prices and an "impending food crisis." He predicted that like in times past, what he was about to say, is sure to come true.
"Tonight we are saying to you, that if we allow the UWP to remain in office until the end of the five years, well Kwapo smoke our pipe! St Lucia will sink in to the abyss of a new dark age. Tonight I say to you, Dove-nomics is not going to work for this country," Baptiste proclaimed, before going on to explain what Dove-nomics represents.
"It is the flambeaus’ economic system," he said, "where they clip the wings of the St Lucian parrots to feather their own nests, by giving one of their party hacks half a million dollars in advance, in the name of six months’ rent; $1.22 million to James Hepple to talk about tradeshow, tradeshow . . . this is pappyshow! Dove-nomics is increased unemployment.
"Dove-nomics is for Allen Chastanet to be able to live a bed of lavish lifestyles, always on airplanes going all over the place. "When they came into power, they said they would have cut down on Cabinet, when they entered they gave all their men Cabinet positions. There was no Cabinet again, there now is a wardrobe," said Baptiste.
"Two consecutive budgets. Last year was a lot of nonsense that they called the vision, but nothing happened. And this year they came with another one, talking about three tunnels and seven hotels. If that budget had one extra page, do you know what would have been on it? They would have told you that they would have made 25 submarines, 65 nuclear warheads and they would catch Bin laden for the US," he said as the audience laughed.
"It was when I was a little boy, that I would hear these kind of stories. Seven hotels; massiay quik," crowd replies "quak;" "three tunnels, massiay quik," crowd replies "quak." Is that how you treat d’Auvergne’s budget?" Baptiste questioned mockingly. "Bousquet confirmed that there is victimization in this country by the selected members o f Cabinet. How can senator d’Auvergne sit in the Cabinet and say they will have a commission of inquiry to investigate the Labour party for corruption? When you live in a glass house you must not throw stones! Last year was corruption and this year is mal-administration.
How many of us can figure out how many Riley Grahams are at the back of the plans in the budget? They talked about Rochamel, the Vieux Fort highway but none of those things qualify as corruption. Do you remember the St Lucia Banana Growers Association? "It is important for us to finally conclude what is the difference between Kennynomics and Dove-nomics," Baptiste added. "When we got into office in 1997, the key of economic objectives were job creation, poverty alleviation and overall growth. Under the Kenny Anthony administration, what happened to unemployment? It dropped from 22 percent to 13.6 percent. Under Dove-nomics it grew from 13.6 percent to 14.6 and it is still climbing."
"Under Dove-nomics you destroyed the STEP program, you looked at caretakers who depended solely on those monies to feed their families and you took it away from them and you give to you friends, how can wealth be evenly distributed with Dove-nomics?
"If we omit 9/11 in 2001 and the drought in 2002, we had economic growth in this country every year. But what has happened under Dove-nomics? In one year things have gone to 0.5 percent. Things are falling in St Lucia and it will continue to decline until you, the sons and daughters of St Lucia who loved the land that gave us birth, rise in defense. The time has come for you to protect every inch of your nation’s soil and the only way we can do that is by ensuring a return of the Labour Party," he said.
Baptiste concluded: "I need not tell the working class of this country we must take. The Labour Party is ready for elections; we are in top shape. But we are waiting for your decision for us to get back in to government first and foremost physical slippage in this country. There is wisdom at work among the members of the trade unions in this country and they will decide."